Calif. Law Bars Arbitration of Coverage Dispute Due to Risk of Conflicting Rulings, Appellate Court Says

LOS ANGELES — Arbitration of a coverage dispute between a school district and one of its insurers is barred under California law because there is pending litigation involving the same issues, thereby posing a risk of conflicting rulings, a state appellate court has affirmed.

In a July 12 opinion, the California Court of Appeal, 2nd District, found California Code of Civil Procedure Section 1281.2(c) compels denial of the motion to compel arbitration. The court held that the Federal Arbitration Act’s procedural provisions do not apply because the policy at issue did not expressly incorporate those provisions.

In September 2015, Los …