Superior Court of California 

County of Los Angeles – West District  

Beverly Hills Courthouse / Department 205 

 

 

 

BACKGROUND 

 

  This case arises from a dispute over the sale of real property located at 9476 Readcrest Drive, Beverly Hills, California (the “Property”).  Plaintiffs Joanna Scapa Anavim and Glauco Lolli-Ghetti bought the Property from Seller who was represented by Defendants Jonah Wilson and Hilton & Hyland Real Estate Inc. (“Moving Defendants”).   

Plaintiffs allege that Seller and Moving Defendants misrepresented the square footage, the number of bedrooms, and the existence of a lawful guest house.  Plaintiffs also allege Defendants failed to disclose material defects including mold and water damage.   

Plaintiffs are pursuing a binding arbitration against Seller.  Moving Defendants are not signatories to the arbitration agreement between Plaintiffs and Seller.  Notwithstanding, Moving Defendants now move to stay the court proceedings against them pending completion of the arbitration between Plaintiffs and Seller.  Moving Defendants argue that a stay will not prejudice any party; to the contrary, if the case proceeds against Moving Defendants while the arbitration remains unresolved, Moving Defendants will be deprived of the opportunity to present evidence, examine witnesses and defend themselves adequately, and a stay will prevent risk of inconsistent rulings and promote judicial economy. 

DISCUSSION 

While Code Civ. Proc. § 1281.4 requires a stay against a party while claims are pursued against that same party in arbitration, a different section – § 1281.2 – governs how a trial court may handle proceedings where there are both arbitrable claims against one party and non-arbitrable claims against another party.   

Under Code Civ. Proc. §1281.2(d), where a party to an arbitration agreement is also a party to a pending court action with a third party then the court may do one of four things: (1) refuse to enforce the arbitration agreement and join all parties to a single proceeding; (2) join all parties only as to certain issues; (3) order arbitration to proceed as to one party and stay the case as to the other party; and (4) stay arbitration as to one party and have the claims against the other party continue in the trial court. 

The Court concludes that option #3 best serves the twin goals of favoring arbitration while reducing duplication and the possibility of inconsistent results.  The thrust of this case is misrepresentations relating to the sale of a home.  If the arbitrator finds the Seller did not make any misrepresentations, this would effectively end the arbitration and the litigation.  There is no dispute that issue preclusion would bar re-litigation of the same issues decided in the arbitration.  If Plaintiffs win at arbitration, they will get the same relief they pray for against Moving Defendants.   

CONCLUSION 

For the foregoing reasons, the Court GRANTS the motion to stay court proceedings against Defendants Hilton & Hyland Real Estate Inc. and Jonah Wilson.   

DATED: February 6, 2024 ___________________________ 

Edward B. Moreton, Jr. 

Judge of the Superior Court