Failing any agreement referred to in Section 1297.112, in an arbitration with a sole arbitrator, if the parties fail to agree on the arbitrator, the appointment shall be made, upon request of a party, by the superior court.
§ 1297.115.Appointment On Failure to Agree On Sole Arbitrator
Title 9.3. Arbitration and Conciliation of International Commercial Disputes · Chapter 3. Composition of Arbitral Tribunals · Article 2. Appointment of Arbitrators · Enacted 1988 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1297.115 lets the superior court appoint the arbitrator, on a party's request, when the parties have not agreed on an appointment procedure and cannot agree on who the sole arbitrator will be.
Full Text of § 1297.115
Plain-English Summary
This section is the sole-arbitrator counterpart to Section 1297.114's three-arbitrator backstop. Where the parties have not worked out their own appointment procedure under Section 1297.112, and the arbitration calls for a single arbitrator, the parties still have to agree on who that person is. If they cannot, the process would otherwise stall indefinitely.
This section prevents that outcome. On a party's request, the superior court appoints the sole arbitrator, giving either side a path forward even when the other side will not agree to a candidate -- or refuses to engage with the selection process at all.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens when the parties can't agree on a sole arbitrator?
Either party can ask the superior court to make the appointment.
Does this section apply if the parties already agreed on how to pick the arbitrator?
No -- it applies failing any agreement referred to in Section 1297.112.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1988, Ch. 23, Sec. 1. Effective March 7, 1988.
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: court appoints sole arbitrator californiaparties fail to agree on arbitrator