Petitioner Andrew Reynosa and real party in interest Advanced Transportation Services, Inc. (ATS) initiated arbitration in 2019. On March 20, 2023, Reynosa filed a motion to withdraw from arbitration with the Tulare County Superior Court. Citing Code of Civil Procedure section 1281.98, he argued ATS twice failed to pay the fees and costs required to continue arbitration within 30 days after the due date and therefore waived the right to compel him to proceed with arbitration. On April 18, 2023, the superior court issued an order denying the motion.
Thereafter, Reynosa filed a “petition for writ of mandate or other appropriate relief” (boldface & capitalization omitted), asking us to issue a stay of the arbitration proceeding pending determination of this petition and a writ of mandate directing the superior court to vacate its April 18, 2023 order and enter a new order granting his motion to withdraw from arbitration. We granted Reynosa’s stay request and later issued an order to show cause why writ relief should not be granted. ATS filed a written return and Reynosa filed a reply to said return.
For the reasons set forth below, we conclude the superior court erroneously denied Reynosa’s withdrawal motion and Reynosa is entitled to writ relief.