Court Opinions

State Laws

US Code

US Constitution

California Code of Civil Procedure Section 1281.3

Legal Research Home > California Laws > Code of Civil Procedure > California Code of Civil Procedure Section 1281.3

1281.3.  A party to an arbitration agreement may petition the court
to consolidate separate arbitration proceedings, and the court may
order consolidation of separate arbitration proceedings when:
   (1) Separate arbitration agreements or proceedings exist between
the same parties; or one party is a party to a separate arbitration
agreement or proceeding with a third party; and
   (2) The disputes arise from the same transactions or series of
related transactions; and
   (3) There is common issue or issues of law or fact creating the
possibility of conflicting rulings by more than one arbitrator or
panel of arbitrators.
   If all of the applicable arbitration agreements name the same
arbitrator, arbitration panel, or arbitration tribunal, the court, if
it orders consolidation, shall order all matters to be heard before
the arbitrator, panel, or tribunal agreed to by the parties. If the
applicable arbitration agreements name separate arbitrators, panels,
or tribunals, the court, if it orders consolidation, shall, in the
absence of an agreed method of selection by all parties to the
consolidated arbitration, appoint an arbitrator in accord with the
procedures set forth in Section 1281.6.
   In the event that the arbitration agreements in consolidated
proceedings contain inconsistent provisions, the court shall resolve
such conflicts and determine the rights and duties of the various
parties to achieve substantial justice under all the circumstances.
   The court may exercise its discretion under this section to deny
consolidation of separate arbitration proceedings or to consolidate
separate arbitration proceedings only as to certain issues, leaving
other issues to be resolved in separate proceedings.
   This section shall not be applicable to an agreement to arbitrate
disputes as to the professional negligence of a health care provider
made pursuant to Section 1295.

Last modified: February 22, 2013