California Court of Appeal

In this case, the parties entered into a subcontractor services agreement, which provided that disputes would be subject to arbitration. Plaintiff sued defendant for breaching the agreement, as well as for other related causes of action. Order denying petition to compel arbitration is reversed, and the matter is remanded to the trial court, where: 1) under Code of Civil Procedure section 1281.2, a party requesting a court order for arbitration must prove the existence of a written agreement to arbitrate, and must prove that the other party refuses to arbitrate their controversy; 2) defendant established the existence of the parties' written agreement to arbitrate; 3) defendant was not required to make a formal demand for arbitration because plaintiff's filing of a complaint was an effective refusal of arbitration; and 4) therefore, defendant met its burden under section 1281.2.

Appellate Information

• Decided 12/17/2014
• Published 12/17/2014

Judges

• Fybel

Court

• California Court of Appeal

Counsel