Title 3. Of Summary Proceedings · Chapter 2.5. Judicial Arbitration · Last amended 1984 · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1141.17 provides that sending a case to arbitration under this chapter doesn't pause the five-year mandatory dismissal clock, except that if the case is still in arbitration more than four and a half years after filing, the time between that point and any request for a trial de novo is excluded from the five-year count.
(a)Submission of an action to arbitration pursuant to this chapter shall not suspend the running of the time periods specified in Chapter 1.5 (commencing with Section 583.110) of Title 8 of Part 2, except as provided in this section.
(b)If an action is or remains submitted to arbitration pursuant to this chapter more than four years and six months after the plaintiff has filed the action, then the time beginning on the date four years and six months after the plaintiff has filed the action and ending on the date on which a request for a de novo trial is filed under Section 1141.20 shall not be included in computing the five-year period specified in Section 583.310.
Plain-English Summary
California generally requires a plaintiff to bring an action to trial within five years or face mandatory dismissal, under the rule in § 583.310. Section 1141.17 confirms that submitting a case to judicial arbitration doesn't stop that five-year clock — arbitration is meant to be quick, and the statute doesn't want parties using it to sit on a case indefinitely.
But it builds in a safety valve for cases that end up stuck in arbitration longer than expected. If a case is still submitted to arbitration more than four years and six months after the plaintiff filed it, the time from that four-and-a-half-year mark until a party requests a trial de novo under § 1141.20 doesn't count toward the five-year period. That excluded window keeps a slow-moving arbitration from running out the mandatory-dismissal clock before a party ever gets a chance for the trial de novo the chapter promises.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does submitting a case to judicial arbitration stop the five-year dismissal clock?
No. Section 1141.17(a) says the time periods in § 583.110 and following keep running during arbitration, except as this section otherwise provides.
What protection exists if arbitration drags on for years?
If the case remains in arbitration more than four years and six months after filing, the time from that point until a trial de novo request is filed under § 1141.20 is excluded from the five-year period in § 583.310.
Why does the statute tie this exclusion to a trial de novo request rather than the arbitration award itself?
Because the exclusion is meant to protect a party's ability to get to trial after arbitration, and that right is triggered by requesting the trial de novo.
Amendment History
Amended by Stats. 1984, Ch. 1705, Sec. 6.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 29, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as:five year dismissal rule judicial arbitration californiatolling statute arbitration california