Code Civ. Proc., § 638 · Chapter 6. Of References and Trials by Referees
Code Civ. Proc., § 638
Text — As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
A referee may be appointed upon the agreement of the parties filed with the clerk, or judge, or entered in the minutes, or upon the motion of a party to a written contract or lease that provides that any controversy arising therefrom shall be heard by a referee if the court finds a reference agreement exists between the parties:
(a) To hear and determine any or all of the issues in an action or proceeding, whether of fact or of law, and to report a statement of decision.
(b) To ascertain a fact necessary to enable the court to determine an action or proceeding.
(c) In any matter in which a referee is appointed pursuant to this section, a copy of the order shall be forwarded to the office of the presiding judge. The Judicial Council shall, by rule, collect information on the use of these referees. The Judicial Council shall also collect information on fees paid by the parties for the use of referees to the extent that information regarding those fees is reported to the court. The Judicial Council shall report thereon to the Legislature by July 1, 2003. This subdivision shall become inoperative on January 1, 2004.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Amended by Stats. 2002, Ch. 1008, Sec. 4. Effective January 1, 2003.
Source of truth
- Edition
- As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
- Official file
- https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CCP§ionNum=638.
- Text hash
- sha256 b245f9ecdf4ca61e760fa999c190299fe0a25f3d04b38dfeeb5d090c4f20340c
- Composed by
- compose_ca.py 2026-10-22: the Legislative Counsel's CAML content files read by a tokenizer (caml_readers.reader_a); an independent xml.etree reading (caml_readers.reader_b) agrees on every section
Cited by 17 provisions
Provisions in this library whose text cites Code Civ. Proc., § 638. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.
Code of Civil Procedure
California Rules of Court
- Cal. Rules of Court, rule 2.111Format of first pagePrinted as Code of Civil Procedure section 638 or 639
- Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.900Purposes of referencePrinted as Code of Civil Procedure section 638
- Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.901Application for order appointing refereePrinted as Code of Civil Procedure section 638
- Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.902Order appointing refereePrinted as Code of Civil Procedure section 638
- Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.907Use of court facilities and court personnelPrinted as Code of Civil Procedure section 638
- Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.930Documents and exhibitsPrinted as Code of Civil Procedure section 638 or 639
Ethics Standards for Neutral Arbitrators in Contractual Arbitration
California Code of Judicial Ethics
- Cal. Code Jud. Ethics, canon 3A judge shall perform the duties of judicial office impartially, competently, and diligentlyPrinted as Code of Civil Procedure section 638 or 639
- Cal. Code Jud. Ethics, canon 6Compliance with the Code of Judicial EthicsPrinted as Code of Civil Procedure section 638 or 639
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.