(1) On the motion of a person showing an agreement to arbitrate and alleging another person's refusal to arbitrate pursuant to the agreement:
If the refusing party does not appear or does not oppose the motion, the court shallorder the parties to arbitrate; and
If the refusing party opposes the motion, the court shall proceed summarily to decidethe issue and order the parties to arbitrate unless it finds that there is no enforceable agreement to arbitrate.
On the motion of a person alleging that an arbitration proceeding has been initiatedor threatened but that there is not an agreement to arbitrate, the court shall proceed summarily to decide the issue. If the court finds that there is an enforceable agreement to arbitrate, it shall order the parties to arbitrate.
If the court finds that there is no enforceable agreement, it may not invoke the provisions of subsection (1) or (2) of this section to order the parties to arbitrate.
The court may not refuse to order arbitration because the claim subject to arbitrationlacks merit or because one or more grounds for the claim have not been established.
If a proceeding involving a claim referable to arbitration under an alleged agreementto arbitrate is pending in court, a motion made under this section shall be filed with that court. Otherwise, a motion made under this section may be filed in any court pursuant to section 13-22227.
If a party files a motion with the court to order arbitration, the court on just termsshall stay any judicial proceeding that involves a claim alleged to be subject to the arbitration until the ordering court renders a final decision under this section.
If the court orders arbitration, the court on just terms shall stay any judicial proceeding that involves a claim subject to the arbitration. If a claim subject to the arbitration is severable, the court may limit the stay to that claim.
Source: L. 2004: Entire part R&RE, p. 1720, § 1, effective August 4.
Editor's note: This section is similar to former § 13-22-204 as it existed prior to 2004.