A motion for a stay of an action on the ground that an issue therein is subject to arbitration shall be made in the court where the action is pending.
§ 1292.8.Place For Making Motion For Stay On Ground Issue Subject to Arbitration
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 1292.8 requires a motion to stay an action on the ground that an issue in it is subject to arbitration to be made in the court where that action is already pending.
Full Text of § 1292.8
Plain-English Summary
When a party believes part of a pending lawsuit should be paused because the issue belongs in arbitration instead, this section says exactly where that request has to go. The motion for a stay must be made in the court where the action itself is pending, not in some separate court chosen for its own venue advantages.
Keeping the stay motion in the same court as the underlying action makes practical sense: that court already has the case and can weigh the stay request against everything else happening in it, rather than forcing a second court to evaluate an action it has no other connection to.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where should a party file a motion to stay an action pending arbitration?
In the court where the action itself is already pending.
Can this stay motion be filed in a different court than the underlying lawsuit?
No. Section 1292.8 requires it to be made in the court where the action is pending.
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: motion to stay action pending arbitration californiawhere to file stay pending arbitration