Specialized Theaters

the tribunal picks the rules — not habit

Arbitration, bankruptcy, administrative hearings, med-mal and construction presuit, small claims — each runs its OWN discovery regime, and the fastest way to lose one is to litigate it like general civil. Pick the theater; get the governing stack, the posture, the gates, and the red lines.

Arbitration (binding, private)

The agreement first, the chosen provider's rules second, the arbitrator's orders third — court discovery powers do NOT import themselves.

Whatever the agreement and provider rules grant, requested THROUGH the arbitrator. Typical private tracks exchange documents and take limited depositions only by arbitrator order. There is no default right to interrogatories, RFAs, or unlimited depositions.

The general-civil trap here

Serving 1.340/1.350-style discovery in a stayed or arbitral matter is the classic self-inflicted wound: it has no force, it burns credibility, and it can waive arbitration positions. Route everything through the arbitrator.

The governing stack

FS 682.02Florida arbitration — validity and enforcement of the agreement[verified]
FS 682.08Florida arbitral subpoenas: witnesses, depositions for use as evidence, permitted discovery[verified]
9 USC 7FAA arbitral summons — attendance before the arbitrator with documents[verified]
9 USC 16What arbitration orders are appealable, and when[verified]
FS 44.405Mediation-communication confidentiality — the firewall (mediation inside an arbitration track stays protected)[verified]
FS 684.0001Florida International Commercial Arbitration Act — the international-seat lane (all 49 ch. 684 sections corpus-verified)[verified]

The gates

Agreement scope + delegation
Read the clause: what disputes, what rules, what seat, who decides arbitrability. Discovery planning starts from the clause, not from habit.
FS 682.02; the agreement
Arbitrator authority
Discovery requests go to the arbitrator as motions under the provider rules — served court-style paper has no force of its own.
Provider rules (private — read the current edition); FS 682.08
Stay discipline
If litigation is stayed for arbitration, court discovery does not run without leave — serving it anyway invites sanctions and waiver fights.
FS 682.03 posture; the stay order

Red lines in this theater

✕ Nonparty PREHEARING document subpoenas under FAA § 7 (Eleventh Circuit)
9 USC 7; Managed Care Advisory Group (11th Cir. 2019) — anchor, verify
Lawful path: Summon the nonparty WITH documents to appear before the arbitrator (a merits or preliminary hearing). Plan third-party evidence around appearances, not paper discovery.
✕ Using mediation communications as evidence or discovery fodder
FS 44.405 — verified
Lawful path: Prove the fact from an independent source; mediation communications are privileged and sanctions follow their misuse.

Routing

Party won't produce documents	Motion to the arbitrator under the provider rules; the arbitrator's order is enforceable in court if defied (FS 682.08 / 9 USC 7).
Nonparty holds the evidence (Florida-seated, state act)	FS 682.08 subpoena practice — the arbitrator issues; the circuit court enforces.
Nonparty holds the evidence (FAA, federal posture)	§ 7 summons to APPEAR before the arbitrator with the documents — see the red line on prehearing paper.
Provisional relief needed before the panel exists	Court assistance per the agreement/act — narrowly, without waiving arbitration.

Doctrine anchors (verify before citing)

Managed Care Advisory Group, LLC v. CIGNA Healthcare, Inc., 939 F.3d 1145 (11th Cir. 2019) — The Eleventh Circuit's FAA § 7 rule — an arbitral summons compels appearance BEFORE the arbitrator; prehearing document discovery from nonparties is not available. Plan third-party evidence around the hearing.

Arbitration looks informal but its discovery rules are contractual — read your clause and the provider rules before asking for anything. This platform drafts requests TO the arbitrator; enforcement motions to court are a counsel-review lane.

TrialVector is software, not a law firm — legal information, not legal advice; nothing you enter leaves your browser. Authorities flagged [in review] carry a single-source honest state — read them with that flag. General-civil discovery planning lives in the Discovery Plan Builder; the aggression governor is the Escalation Zone.