Judge: Marcella O. Mclaughlin, Case: 37-2021-00034373-CU-OE-CTL, Date: 2024-01-12 Tentative Ruling

SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA,

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HALL OF JUSTICE

TENTATIVE RULINGS - January 11, 2024

01/12/2024  01:30:00 PM  C-72 COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO

JUDICIAL OFFICER:Marcella O McLaughlin

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Civil - Unlimited  Other employment Motion Hearing (Civil) 37-2021-00034373-CU-OE-CTL LAURICE VS FORTRESS WORLDWIDE INC [IMAGED] CAUSAL DOCUMENT/DATE FILED: Motion to Be Relieved as Counsel of Record, 12/01/2023

The motions to be relieved as counsel are DENIED without prejudice.

If a lawsuit is stayed pending a decision through binding arbitration, 'the action at law sits in the twilight zone of abatement with the trial court retaining merely a vestigial jurisdiction over matters submitted to arbitration.' Brock v. Kaiser Foundation Hospitals (1992) 10 Cal.App.4th 1790, 1796. Under its 'vestigial' jurisdiction, a court may: appoint arbitrators if the method selected by the parties fails (Code Civ. Proc. § 1281.6); grant a provisional remedy 'but only upon the ground that the award to which an applicant may be entitled may be rendered ineffectual without provisional relief' (Code Civ. Proc. § 1281.8(b)); and confirm, correct or vacate the arbitration award (Code Civ. Proc. § 1285). Absent an agreement to withdraw the controversy from arbitration, no other judicial act is authorized. Titan/Value Equities Group, Inc. v. Superior Court (1994) 29 Cal.App.4th 482, 487.

In this case, pursuant to the parties' stipulation, the action was ordered to arbitration and 'stayed in its entirety.' ROA 30 at p. 7. The stay has not been lifted. Nor has the arbitration been completed.

Accordingly, the court lacks jurisdiction to rule on the motions to be relieved as counsel. See Brock, 10 Cal.App.4th at 1796; see also Titan/Value, 29 Cal.App.4th at 487.

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