In an April 2015 decision, In re Application of Grupo Unidos por el Canal S.A., a California district court held that Section 1782 does not authorize assistance with discovery in aid of private arbitrations established by contract. Grupo Unidos por el Canal (“GUPC”), a Panama-based company owned by four global construction firms, entered into a contract with Autoridad del Canal de Panama (“ACP”), a legal entity of the Republic of Panama, to build a new set of locks for…