Venture

THE COURT: *

*876 Does an appeal of an order disqualifying counsel result in an automatic stay pursuant *676 to Code of Civil Procedure section 916 ? 1 If so, how far does the automatic stay extend-solely to enforcement of the disqualification order or to all trial court proceedings? Surprisingly, these precise questions have not yet been answered by California courts. *877 The trial court ruled that nothing was stayed by the appeal. We conclude the appeal automatically stayed enforcement of the order disqualifying counsel, but not all trial court proceedings. We therefore grant, in part, appellants' petition for writ of supersedeas. 2

We decline to address appellants' request for a discretionary stay of all trial court proceedings pursuant to section 923. Given our holding with regard to the automatic stay of the disqualification order, we deem it prudent for the parties to submit any remaining disputes to the trial court in the first instance.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

This action commenced in March 2017. The dispute is between a contractor (respondent) and subcontractor (appellants). The parties sued each other for alleged damages arising out of a construction project on State…