788.07 Depositions. Upon petition, approved by the arbitrators or by a majority of them, any court of record in and for the county in which such arbitrators, or a majority of them, are sitting may direct the taking of depositions to be used as evidence before the arbitrators, in the same manner and for the same reasons as provided by law for the taking of depositions in suits or proceedings pending in the courts of record in this state.

History: 1979 c. 32 s. 64; Stats. 1979 s. 788.07.

Arbitrators have no inherent authority to dictate the scope of discovery. Absent an express agreement, the parties are limited to the procedure for depositions, as described in this section. Borst v. Allstate Insurance Company, 2006 WI 70, 291 Wis. 2d 361, 717 N.W.2d 42, 04-2004.

For a party in arbitration to enjoy discovery outside of that allowed by this section, an insurance policy must provide for it expressly, explicitly, specifically, and in a clearly drafted clause. For a policy to adequately describe the discovery mechanisms to be used at arbitration it must indicate in the policy that the mechanisms are in fact discovery mechanisms and that they are meant to be available at arbitration. A provision stating that “local rules of law as to procedure and evidence will apply" was not an explicit, specific, and clearly drafted reference to ch. 804 or to any other discovery rules. Marlowe v. IDS Property Casualty Insurance Company, 2013 WI 29, 346 Wis. 2d 450, 828 N.W.2d 812, 11-2067.

Borst Clarifies Arbitration Procedures. Frankel. Wis. Law. Dec. 2006.