Kaiser Foundation Hospitals v. Superior Court

In this original proceeding we are asked to determine whether a motion to disqualify a judge made pursuant to section 170.6 of the Code of Civil Procedure was timely and whether the subsequent order granting a motion to vacate an arbitration award was an abuse of discretion.

The underlying action is a complaint for wrongful death filed by real parties in interest against petitioners on July 21, 1981. The parties stipulated to binding arbitration and, after a hearing held in February 1986, the arbitrators found in favor of petitioners in a two-to-one decision. On April 10,1986, real parties filed a petition in superior court to vacate the award on the ground that the neutral arbitrator should have disclosed the fact that he had accepted an appointment as a party arbitrator for petitioners in an unrelated case. The motion was noticed for hearing in Department One on May 9, 1986, and later continued by stipulation to May 20.

When the petition came on for hearing on May 20, petitioners submitted a challenge of the Honorable Henry Ramsey, Jr. pursuant to section 170.6. Real parties protested, pointing out that under a local rule petitioners were able to discover the…