Discovery in a Commission-Initiated Investigation

While Evidence Code section 1563 may not be directly applicable to this proceeding, it does express the common sense, equitable notion that the costs of litigation between two or more disputing parties normally should not be transferred to uninvolved third parties. Calcor Space Facility, Inc. v. Superior Court, 53 Cal. App. 4^th 216, 225 (4^th Dist. 1997), discussed by the parties, indicates as much: "As between parties to litigation and nonparties, the burden of discovery should be placed on the latter only if the former do not possess the material sought to be discovered." This proceeding, however, is not civil litigation and SET is not the typical bystander to such litigation.