Tentative ruling issued by Judge Jill Fannin on Oct. 30, 2019 in Contra Costa County, CA - Case no: xxxxx185

HEARING ON PETITION TO COMPEL ARBITRATION

FILED BY CREEKSIDE OPERATING COMPANY, LP

* TENTATIVE RULING: *

Defendants’ petition to compel arbitration is denied. The basis for this ruling is as follows.

A. A Question For The Trial Court.

In their reply memorandum, defendants argue that the question of whether plaintiff

This argument lacks merit: the issue of whether the parties entered into an arbitration agreement is an issue that the trial court must always decide. (9 USCS § 4 [if there is a dispute over the existence of an arbitration agreement “the court shall proceed summarily to the trial thereof”]; Code Civ. Proc., § 1281.2 [the court shall order arbitration “if it determines that an agreement to arbitrate the controversy exists”]. See, Rosenthal v. Great Western Fin. Securities Corp. (1996) 14 Cal.4th 394, 416 [fraud in the execution must be decided by the trial court]; Esparza v. Sand & Sea, Inc. (2016) 2 Cal.App.5th….....