In Re Ex Parte Application of William Laggner, 1:23-mc-00074

William Laggner and other shareholders filed a petition in the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands against Uphold Ltd., seeking the winding up or alternative relief regarding alleged insider misconduct.
Laggner accuses Uphold's insiders, including board members and former CEOs, as well as Ricardo Salinas Pliego, of participating in unlawful, self-enriching transactions that harmed the company and its shareholders.
Salinas, a prominent businessman, is alleged to have played a significant role in these transactions and derived financial benefit from them.
Laggner sought an order under 28 U.S.C. § 1782 from the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado to obtain discovery (documents and deposition) from Salinas for use in the Cayman Islands proceedings.
The discovery request was made ex parte, with no evidence provided of Salinas's consistent presence or residence in Colorado, which is central to § 1782’s requirements.
The requested subpoenas were not tied to Colorado, with return addresses and deposition locations outside the district.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Does Salinas "reside or may be found" in Colorado for § 1782(a)?	Salinas consistently visits and is present in Colorado	No evidence provided	No—Laggner failed to provide sufficient evidence tying Salinas to Colorado
Is discovery under § 1782 otherwise warranted?	Discovery central to Cayman proceedings' claims	—	Not reached due to threshold failure on residency/presence
Are the subpoenas appropriately tied to Colorado?	Subpoenas support Colorado jurisdiction	Subpoenas reference Miami/remote, not Colorado	Subpoenas not tied to Colorado, weakening jurisdictional claim
Can the application be renewed with further evidence?	—	—	Laggner may file a renewed application by Jan. 31, 2024

Intel Corp. v. Advanced Micro Devices, 542 U.S. 241 (2004) (sets forth discretionary factors for granting § 1782 applications)