How have courts interpreted the arbitration provisions in determining whether an arbitration provision applies to a certain controversy?

In determining whether an arbitration provision applies to a certain controversy, we first identify the controversy and then decide whether that controversy is within the scope of the arbitration provision. (Tobacco Cases I, supra, 124 Cal.App.4th at p. 1106; accord Coast Plaza, supra, 83 Cal.App.4th at pp. 684-685.) To identify the controversy, the court examines the specific acts of alleged wrongdoing and not just the form of the claim. (Drell v. Cohen (2014) 232 Cal.App.4th 24, 29-30.) Rather than interpreting the written agreement at this step in the analysis, the court assesses the nature of the dispute as pled in the complaint. (Tobacco Cases I, at p. 1106; Coast Plaza, at pp. 684-685.)