Procedural Posture

Procedural Posture

Appellant clients sought review of an order from the Superior Court of Los Angeles County (California), which confirmed an arbitration award in favor of respondent attorney in a dispute over legal fees.

Overview

The clients submitted a petition for arbitration and disputed the existence of an attorney-client relationship. The parties executed a written stipulation for binding arbitration, which included a notation that jurisdiction and attorney-client relationship were issues in the proceeding and that rulings thereon were binding as provided by law.
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The award in favor of the attorney contained a finding that the parties had signed a stipulation for binding arbitration as to all issues, including jurisdiction. The court affirmed the trial court's order confirming the award. The court held that Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 6200 et seq., governing arbitration of disputes as to attorney fees, allowed parties to enter into an agreement that authorized arbitrators to determine the existence of an attorney-client relationship. Pursuant to Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 6203(a), an arbitration award was to include a determination of all the questions submitted to the arbitrators, the decision of which was necessary in order to determine the controversy. As provided in Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 1281, generally, a written agreement to submit a dispute to arbitration was valid, enforceable, and irrevocable.

Outcome

The court affirmed the trial court's order confirming the arbitration award in favor of the attorney.