Briggs

Appellants Catherine Louise Briggs and Scott Briggs filed a petition for a writ of mandate (Code Civ. Proc., § 1085) to direct a private arbitrator to lift a stay he had imposed in the arbitration of a dispute concerning an uninsured motorist policy issued by GEICO General Insurance Company (GEICO). The trial court denied the petition, finding that the arbitrator did not err in issuing a stay. We conclude that the trial court lacked the authority to review a discretionary, prehearing order of an arbitrator, and we affirm the judgment on that basis.

I.

Factual and Procedural Background

In August 2005, Ms. Briggs suffered injuries when an uninsured motorist rear-ended her while she was driving on work-related business in a company car provided to her by her employer. Although the accident took place while Ms. Briggs was acting in the scope of her employment, she declined to file a workers’ compensation claim. The parties were not able to agree on whether GEICO had a duty to pay Ms. Briggs before there was a determination of her entitlement to workers’. compensation benefits. On June 23, 2007, appellants demanded arbitration with GEICO. The dispute was submitted to…