Case Explained: Candel & Partners SAS Movant— v. ExxonMobil Corporation Defendant—

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Filed: 2026-07-23 The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court’s order granting ExxonMobil’s motion to quash a subpoena issued under 28 U.S.C. § 1782, which Candel & Partners SAS had sought to obtain documents from ExxonMobil for use in a French judicial proceeding. The court applied an abuse of discretion standard of review to the district court’s weighing of the four discretionary factors established in *Intel Corp. v. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.*, 542 U.S. 241 (2004). The court held that the district court did not abuse its discretion and provided sufficient reasoning for its decision, despite Candel’s argument that the oral ruling was too cursory. The appellate court found that the district court meaningfully engaged with the *Intel* factors during the hearing: it determined that the French tribunal had the ability to order production of documents within its own jurisdiction (addressing the first factor); expressed confidence in the integrity of the foreign tribunal and found no need for U.S. assistance (second factor); noted evidence that Candel was attempting to circumvent foreign proof-gathering restrictions after failing to obtain the information domestically in France (third factor); and concluded the request was unduly broad, intrusive, and burdensome (fourth factor). The court clarified that a district court is not required to provide “authoritative proof” that a foreign tribunal would reject assistance under the second *Intel* factor. As a result of the affirmation, the subpoena quashed by the district court remains unenforceable, and Candel & Partners SAS is precluded from obtaining the requested discovery from ExxonMobil through the U.S. federal court system for its French litigation. Do It For The Case Law is a news reporting service. Nothing in this episode constitutes legal advice.