Governor Brown Signs SB 1007 Allowing Parties in Arbitration to Request Reporters for Hearings and Depositions

Last week, Governor Brown Signed SB 1007, which gives the parties to an arbitration “the right to have a certified shorthand reporter transcribe any deposition, proceeding, or hearing as the official record.”  This new law requires the party who wants to the reporter make his/her/its request in a “demand, response, answer, or counterclaim related to the arbitration, or at a pre-hearing scheduling conference at which a deposition, proceeding, or hearing is being calendared.”  SB 1007 also requires the party requesting the transcript to incur the expense of the certified shorthand reporter, “except as specified in a consumer arbitration.”

It is often a good idea to have a reporter present during arbitration proceedings and depositions, so that you have a record to cite to in the event you need to get the Court involved.  SB 1007 now guarantees that parties in arbitration will be allowed this right.

SB 1007 will be codified at Section 1282.5 of the Code of Civil Procedure.  You can read the full text of this new law here.