Denial of petition to compel arbitration in Oregon must be appealed within 30 days

The Oregon Court of Appeals held yesterday in Snider v. Production Chemical Manufacturing, Inc., that an order denying a petition to compel arbitration must be appealed within 30 days of the order.  In that case, the party seeking to arbitrate proceeded to a jury trial and appealed the arbitration issue after judgment was entered.  Judge Robert Wollheim, writing for the court, held that the appeal was untimely and the Court of Appeals lacked jurisdiction.  This result is mandated by the Uniform Arbitration Act, which Oregon adopted in 2003.