§ 1281.4.Stay of Action Or Proceeding Until Arbitration Had In Accordance With Order Or Issue to Arbitrate Determined

Title 9. Arbitration · Chapter 2. Enforcement of Arbitration Agreements · Enacted 1961 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 29, 2026

In one sentenceSection 1281.4 requires a California court to stay a pending action or proceeding whenever arbitration of an issue in it has already been ordered, or a motion to compel arbitration remains undecided, until the arbitration is complete or the court sets an earlier date, with a stay limited to a severable issue where appropriate.

Full Text of § 1281.4

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If a court of competent jurisdiction, whether in this State or not, has ordered arbitration of a controversy which is an issue involved in an action or proceeding pending before a court of this State, the court in which such action or proceeding is pending shall, upon motion of a party to such action or proceeding, stay the action or proceeding until an arbitration is had in accordance with the order to arbitrate or until such earlier time as the court specifies.

If an application has been made to a court of competent jurisdiction, whether in this State or not, for an order to arbitrate a controversy which is an issue involved in an action or proceeding pending before a court of this State and such application is undetermined, the court in which such action or proceeding is pending shall, upon motion of a party to such action or proceeding, stay the action or proceeding until the application for an order to arbitrate is determined and, if arbitration of such controversy is ordered, until an arbitration is had in accordance with the order to arbitrate or until such earlier time as the court specifies.

If the issue which is the controversy subject to arbitration is severable, the stay may be with respect to that issue only.

End

Plain-English Summary

Once arbitration of an issue is on the table, this section keeps a related court case from running ahead of it. If any court -- in California or elsewhere -- has already ordered arbitration of a controversy that's also an issue in a case pending before a California court, that California court has to stay its own action or proceeding, on a party's motion, until the arbitration happens or the court sets an earlier date.

The same stay applies even earlier in the process, when a request for an order compelling arbitration is still pending and undecided. The California court stays its case until that request is resolved, and, if arbitration is then ordered, keeps the stay in place until the arbitration is completed or the court says otherwise.

Not every issue in a case needs to wait. If the controversy subject to arbitration can be separated from the rest of the case, the stay can apply just to that issue, letting the rest of the litigation move forward.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens to a lawsuit while related arbitration is pending?

The court must stay the action, on motion, until the arbitration is completed or the court specifies an earlier time, under § 1281.4.

Does the whole case get stayed, or just the arbitrable part?

If the issue subject to arbitration is severable, the stay can be limited to that issue alone.

What if the motion to compel arbitration hasn't been decided yet?

The court still stays the action until that motion is resolved, and, if arbitration is then ordered, until the arbitration itself is completed.

Amendment History

Added by Stats. 1961, Ch. 461.

Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from the California Legislative Information. Enacted by the California Legislature. Last verified July 29, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: stay lawsuit pending arbitration californiamandatory stay arbitration order