Petition to confirm contractual arbitration award
April 17, 2026, Civil Law & Motion Tentative Rulings
1. CU0002119 Dhillon Law Group, Inc. v. Joby Ogwyn
Petitioner’s unopposed petition to confirm contractual arbitration award is denied without prejudice.
Petitioner seeks an order confirming the arbitration award issued in its favor on August 21, 2024. Once arbitration is concluded, “any arbitrator’s award is enforceable only when confirmed as a judgment of the superior court.” O’Hare v. Municipal Resource Consultants (2003) 107 Cal.App.4th 267, 278. Any of the parties may file a petition with the court, which must then “confirm the award, correct and confirm it, vacate it, or dismiss the petition.” Code Civ. Proc. §§ 1285, 1286; EHM Productions, Inc. v.
Starline Tours of Hollywood, Inc. (2018) 21 Cal.App.5th 1058, 1063. “It is well settled that the scope of judicial review of arbitration awards is extremely narrow.” California Faculty Assn. v. Superior Court (1998) 63 Cal.App.4th 935, 943. “Neither the trial court, nor the appellate court, may ‘review the merits of the dispute, the sufficiency of the evidence, or the arbitrator’s reasoning, nor may we correct or review an award because of an arbitrator’s legal or factual error, even if it appears on the award’s face.”
EHM Productions, 21 Cal.App.5th at 1063-1064.
On the Court’s motion, Petitioner’s unopposed petition to confirm contractual arbitration award was previously continued to April 13, 2026. Petitioner was previously ordered to file proof of service of the final arbitration award that complied with Code of Civil Procedure section 1283.6, to serve notice of the continued hearing in compliance with Code of Civil Procedure section 1290.4, and to file proof of service with the court of such notice. To date, these requirements have not been satisfied.
Filing Requirements – Code of Civil Procedure § 1285.4
The Court previously concluded that Petitioner satisfied these filing requirements.
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Service of the Arbitration Award & Timeliness of Petition – Code of Civil Procedure §§ 1283.6, 1288, 1288.4
Code of Civil Procedure section 1283.6 provides that: “The neutral arbitrator shall serve a signed copy of the award on each party to the arbitration personally or by registered or certified mail or as provided in the agreement.” In addition, a party may seek a court judgment confirming an arbitration award by filing and serving a petition no more than four years, but not less than 10 days, after the award is served. Code Civ. Proc. §§ 1288, 1288.4.
Here, the Court, for a third time, cannot tell if this motion is timely. Petitioner submits the Final Award which was issued on August 21, 2024. Pet., Ex. 8(c). The Court previously noted there was no proof of service, let alone any evidence that Arbitrator Silverman served a signed copy of the award to each party of the arbitration personally or by registered or certified mail or as provided in the agreement.
On April 6, 2026, Petitioner filed a Proof of Service stating a copy of the “Final Award” was served on Respondent. Such is not proof the neutral arbitrator served a signed copy of the award as required by Code of Civil Procedure section 1283.6. Thus, there is still no evidence Arbitrator Silverman served a signed copy of the award to each party of the arbitration as provided in the agreement.
Service of the Petition and Notice of the Hearing – Code of Civil Procedure § 1290.4
Code of Civil Procedure section 1290.4, the statute governing proper service of this motion, states, in pertinent part:
(a) A copy of the petition and a written notice of the time and place of the hearing thereof and any other papers upon which the petition is based shall be served in the manner provided in the arbitration agreement for the service of such petition and notice.
(b) If the arbitration agreement does not provide the manner in which such service shall be made and the person upon whom service is to be made has not previously appeared in the proceeding and has not previously been served in accordance with this subdivision: ¶ (1) Service within this State shall be made in the manner provided by law for the service of summons in an action. ....
Pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 1290.2, “not less than 10 days’ notice of the date set for the hearing on the petition shall be given.”
Here, the arbitration agreement does not provide the manner of service. See Pet., Ex. 4(b). Petitioner personally served Respondent with a copy of the petition on August 7, 2025. See Proof of Service of Summons, filed August 13, 2025. Petitioner served the original notice of hearing. Of note, there is no filed notice of hearing for April 16, 2026 (although there is proof of service of the same). Therefore, the Court cannot ascertain if the notice requirements for the hearing have been met.
Based on the foregoing, the motion to confirm the contractual arbitration award has still not conformed to statutory requirements. Therefore, the petition is denied without prejudice.
2. CU0001605 Andrew Alan Johnson vs. Donald Judas
Plaintiff’s motion to compel production of unedited sub rosa and deposition of private investigator is withdrawn from calendar. To the Court’s knowledge, Plaintiff has not filed the instant motion as contemplated in the March 17, 2026, order. In any event, the motion appears moot. Per Defendants, Plaintiff advised Defendants on March 18, 2026 that the motion is no longer necessary because the sub rosa footage was produced to Plaintiff and the private investigator was being produced for deposition.
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