Nothing in this act shall prohibit an arbitration award in excess of the amount in controversy as specified in Section 1141.11. No party electing a trial de novo after such award shall be subject to the provisions of Section 1141.21 if the judgment upon the trial de novo is in excess of the amount in controversy as specified in Section 1141.11.
§ 1141.26.Award Or Judgment In Excess of Amount In Controversy
Title 3. Of Summary Proceedings · Chapter 2.5. Judicial Arbitration · Last amended 1981 · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1141.26 confirms an arbitrator may award more than the amount-in-controversy threshold set in § 1141.11, and exempts a party who elects a trial de novo after such an award from § 1141.21's cost-shifting penalty if the trial de novo judgment also exceeds that threshold.
Full Text of § 1141.26
Plain-English Summary
Arbitrators aren't capped at the § 1141.11 dollar threshold just because that threshold determined which cases go to arbitration in the first place. Section 1141.26 makes clear an arbitrator can award more than that amount if the facts support it.
The second half of the section protects a party who then wants a trial de novo after a large award. Ordinarily, § 1141.21 penalizes a party who elects a trial de novo and fails to beat the arbitration award. This section removes that risk when the case has outgrown the arbitration threshold: if the judgment on the trial de novo is itself in excess of § 1141.11's amount-in-controversy figure, the party who requested that trial isn't subject to § 1141.21's cost-shifting at all, regardless of how that judgment compares to the arbitration award.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can an arbitrator award more than $50,000, or whatever threshold applies?
Yes. Section 1141.26 confirms nothing prohibits an arbitration award in excess of the amount in controversy specified in § 1141.11.
Does electing a trial de novo after a large arbitration award risk the § 1141.21 cost penalty?
Why does this exemption exist?
Because § 1141.21's penalty is meant to discourage requesting a trial de novo in a case that belongs within the arbitration threshold, not to punish a party in a case that has clearly outgrown it.
Amendment History
Amended by Stats. 1981, Ch. 1110, Sec. 4.
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: arbitration award exceeds amount in controversy californiatrial de novo cost penalty exception