United States Seventh Circuit

In a case concerning an arbitration agreement, judgment directing Hewitt Associates to produce the documents and issuing a stay pending Health Grades' appeal is affirmed where: 1) paragraph 6 of the agreement between Health Grades and Hewitt Associates provides that materials from the arbitration may be disclosed in response to a subpoena; and 2) even if the agreement had purported to block disclosure, such a provision would be ineffectual as contracts bind only parties and no one can agree with someone else that a stranger's resort to discovery under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure will be cut off.

Appellate Information

• Decided 09/03/2009
• Published 09/03/2009

Judges

• EASTERBROOK, Chief Judge., Before EASTERBROOK, Chief Judge, and WILLIAMS and SYKES, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Seventh Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• Philip Heller (submitted), Attorney, Los Angeles, CA, Steven R. Smith, Attorney, Bryan Cave, Chicago, IL, for Plaintiffs-Appellees., Stephen A. Wood, Attorney, Kelley Drye & Warren LLP, Chicago, IL, for Defendant-Appellant.