If a controversy referable to arbitration under an alleged agreement is involved in an action or proceeding pending in a superior court, a petition for an order to arbitrate shall be filed in such action or proceeding.
§ 1292.4.Petition For Order to Arbitrate Filed In Pending Action Or Proceeding
Title 9. Arbitration · Chapter 5. General Provisions Relating to Judicial Proceedings · Article 2. Venue, Jurisdiction and Costs · Enacted 1961 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1292.4 requires a petition for an order to arbitrate to be filed in the same superior court action or proceeding already pending, whenever the controversy that petition addresses is already part of that pending case.
Full Text of § 1292.4
Plain-English Summary
Sometimes an arbitrable dispute surfaces in the middle of a lawsuit that's already underway, rather than as a fresh standalone matter. This section keeps that situation from splintering into two separate proceedings.
If a controversy that could be sent to arbitration under an alleged agreement is already involved in an action or proceeding pending in a superior court, the petition asking the court to order arbitration must be filed within that same pending action or proceeding. There's no separate venue analysis and no freestanding filing -- the request rides along with the case that's already in front of the court.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do I file a petition to compel arbitration if a related lawsuit is already pending?
In that same pending action or proceeding, rather than as a separate filing elsewhere.
Does the venue analysis in Section 1292 apply when a lawsuit is already pending?
No. Section 1292.4 overrides that analysis whenever the arbitrable controversy is already part of a pending superior court case.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1961, Ch. 461.
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: petition to compel arbitration in pending lawsuitorder to arbitrate filed in existing action