The parties to a construction contract with a public agency may expressly agree in writing that in any arbitration to resolve a dispute relating to the contract, the arbitrator's award shall be supported by law and substantial evidence. If the agreement so provides, a court shall, subject to Section 1286.4, vacate the award if after review of the award it determines either that the award is not supported by substantial evidence or that it is based on an error of law.
§ 1296.Agreement that Arbitrator's Decision Supported By Law and Substantial Evidence
Title 9.2. Public Construction Contract Arbitration · Enacted 1979 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1296 lets parties to a public construction contract agree in writing that the arbitrator's award must be supported by law and substantial evidence, letting a court vacate the award if it is not.
Full Text of § 1296
Plain-English Summary
Ordinary arbitration awards get very little second-guessing from courts, even when the arbitrator got the law wrong. Parties to a public construction contract can bargain their way out of that limited review, but only if they say so in writing before the dispute arises.
If the contract includes that agreement, a court reviewing the resulting award has to check more than the usual narrow grounds for vacating an award. It has to look at whether the award is backed by substantial evidence and whether the arbitrator made an error of law, and it must vacate the award if either problem shows up. That heightened review still operates alongside the general grounds for vacating an award, so an award can fail either standard.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does ordinary arbitration review check whether the arbitrator applied the law correctly?
No. This heightened review only applies to public construction contracts where the parties expressly agreed in writing that the award must be supported by law and substantial evidence.
What happens if the parties made that agreement and the award has a legal error?
The court must vacate the award if it determines the award is based on an error of law, in addition to checking whether it is supported by substantial evidence.
Does this replace the general rules for vacating an arbitration award?
No. Section 1296 applies subject to the general vacation statute, so both sets of grounds remain available.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1979, Ch. 46.
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: public construction arbitration award reviewsubstantial evidence arbitration award california