The appeal shall be taken in the same manner as an appeal from an order or judgment in a civil action. Upon an appeal from any order or judgment under this title, the court may review the decision and any intermediate ruling, proceeding, order or decision which involves the merits or necessarily affects the order or judgment appealed from, or which substantially affects the rights of a party. The court may also on such appeal review any order on motion for a new trial. The respondent on the appeal, or party in whose favor the judgment or order was given may, without appealing from such judgment, request the court to and it may review any of the foregoing matters for the purpose of determining whether or not the appellant was prejudiced by the error or errors upon which he relies for reversal or modification of the judgment or order from which the appeal is taken. The provisions of this section do not authorize the court to review any decision or order from which an appeal might have been taken.
§ 1294.2.Review By Court Upon Appeal
Title 9. Arbitration · Chapter 5. General Provisions Relating to Judicial Proceedings · Article 3. Appeals · Enacted 1961 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1294.2 lets an appeal under this title proceed like any civil appeal but broadens the scope of review to intermediate rulings affecting the merits or a party's substantial rights, while barring review of any decision from which a separate appeal could already have been taken.
Full Text of § 1294.2
Plain-English Summary
Once a party clears Section 1294's narrow list and has something the court will treat as appealable, this section governs how that appeal works. Mechanically, it's taken the same way as any appeal from an order or judgment in a civil action -- no special appellate procedure applies just because the case involves arbitration.
What does differ is the scope of what the appellate court can look at. Beyond the appealed order or judgment itself, the court may review any intermediate ruling, proceeding, order, or decision that involves the merits or necessarily affects the ruling being appealed, or that substantially affects a party's rights. The court can also review any ruling on a motion for a new trial made along the way. Even the party who won below gets a say: without filing a separate appeal, that party may ask the court to review any of these same matters, to test whether the appellant was truly prejudiced by the errors it's relying on for reversal or modification.
There's an important boundary on all of this broadened review, though. This section doesn't let a party revive a decision or order from which a separate appeal could have been taken but wasn't. If Section 1294 made an earlier ruling independently appealable and no one appealed it in time, that ruling stays out of reach here -- this section expands what can be reviewed alongside a proper appeal, not a substitute route for appeals that were never filed.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is an appeal under this title different procedurally from an ordinary civil appeal?
It isn't. Section 1294.2 says the appeal is taken in the same manner as an appeal from an order or judgment in a civil action.
What can the appellate court review beyond the specific order or judgment appealed?
Any intermediate ruling, proceeding, order, or decision that involves the merits, necessarily affects the appealed ruling, or substantially affects a party's rights, including a new-trial ruling.
Can the party who won below seek review of these same matters without filing its own appeal?
Yes, to test whether the appellant was prejudiced by the errors it relies on, though this doesn't give that party affirmative relief beyond that purpose.
Can this section be used to revive an appeal that was never filed?
No. It doesn't authorize review of any decision or order from which an appeal might have been taken separately but wasn't.
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
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