Notably, in Matria Healthcare, the Northern District of Illinois refused to follow a prior decision by that same court, Amgen Inc. v. Kidney Center of Delaware County, Ltd., 879 F. Supp. 878, 879-80 (N.D. Ill. 1995), dismissed on appeal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, 101 F.3d 110 (7th Cir. 1996), which held that Section 7 of the FAA empowers arbitrators to compel non-parties to appear for depositions and produce documents prior to the hearing. The court distinguished Amgen Inc. on the grounds that the non-party in that case did not challenge the arbitrator’s authority to compel prehearing discovery. Further, the court found that subsequent decisions from the Third and Fourth Circuits have essentially overruled Amgen Inc.
Moreover, the Matria Healthcare court also made no reference to an unpublished decision from the Northern District of Illinois, In re Arbitration Between Scandinavian Reinsurance Co. Ltd. v. Continental Cas. Co., No. 04-C-7020, at 3-4 (N.D. Ill. Dec. 10, 2004), which held that an arbitration panel has the authority to order prehearing non-party depositions under the FAA.
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