Jardine, Matheson & Co. v. Pacific Orient Co.

Respondent moves to dismiss the appeal herein upon the ground that the order from which it was taken is not appealable. The determination of the motion involves the construction of section 1293 of the Code of Civil Procedure, which is' one of several code sections enacted by the legislature in 1927 relating to the enforcement of agreements to arbitrate controversies growing out of written contracts (Code Civ. Proc., secs. 1280-1293, incl. [(Stats. 1927, p. 404, sec. 1), secs. 1281-1290 (Stats. 1927, pp. 404-407, secs. 2-11), secs. 1291-1293 (Stats. 1927, pp. 407, 408, secs. 12-14)]).

The essential portions of those sections are as follows: Section 1280 declares that “a provision in a written contract to settle by arbitration a controversy thereafter arising out of the contract or the refusal to perform the whole or any part thereof, or an agreement in writing to submit an existing controversy to arbitration . . . shall be valid, enforceable and irrevocable, save upon such grounds as exist at law or in equity for the revocation of any contract; provided, however, the provisions of this act shall not apply to contracts pertaining to labor.” Section 1281 sets forth the nature of the…