What the panel ordered
The Appeals Board granted the petition for removal, rescinded the September 11, 2024 orders to appear and produce, and returned the matter to the trial level for further proceedings.
Defendant filed a petition for removal from the WCJ's orders to appear and produce documents issued on September 11, 2024, which the WCJ denied, and the Appeals Board reviewed the petition for removal.
What was disputed, and how it came out
Each issue the panel decided, with the reasoning it gave. An outcome is what this panel did on this record — not a rule, and not a prediction.
The Appeals Board found that the WCJ's orders violated defendant's due process rights by denying a hearing on the petition to quash, constituting substantial prejudice and irreparable harm, thus justifying removal.
From the decision · page 1Defendant has filed a petition for removal from the orders to appear and produce issued on September 11, 2024, by the workers' compensation administrative law judge (WCJ), which ordered a representative from two investigation companies to appear in person at a subsequent hearing and produce their entire investigation files for inspection.
The facts that decided it
What the panel treated as outcome-determinative, and which side it favoured.
The WCJ issued orders to appear and produce documents without holding a hearing on defendant's petition to quash.
Favours Defendant prevailed
This violated defendant's due process rights, causing substantial prejudice and irreparable harm, which justified granting removal.
From the decision · page 3The Appeals Board issues and enforces subpoenas in the same manner as the Civil Discovery Act. (Cal. Lab. Code, § 5710(a); Cal. Code Civ. Proc., § 2016.010, et. seq.) Here, applicant has issued a subpoena for investigation records from two non-party investigation services. It appears that defendant may have used these services in investigating applicant's claim. Defendant filed a petition to quash the subpoenas. The WCJ, in essence, summarily denied defendant's petition to quash when they issued orders for the investigators to appear and produce documents. This violated defendant's right to due process to have a hearing on its petition to quash. Accordingly, removal must be granted to permit defendant its right to a hearing on the petition to quash.
The rules the panel named
Authorities as the decision cited them, with how this panel applied each one.
Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8, 10955(a); Cortez v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd. (2006) 136 Cal.App.4th 596; Kleemann v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd. (2005) 127 Cal.App.4th 274
Removal is an extraordinary remedy granted only if substantial prejudice or irreparable harm will result if removal is not granted, and reconsideration is not an adequate remedy.
The Appeals Board found that the discovery orders violated defendant's due process rights, constituting substantial prejudice and irreparable harm, thus justifying removal.
From the decision · page 2Cal.Comp.Cases 133].) The Appeals Board will grant removal only if the petitioner shows that substantial prejudice or irreparable harm will result if removal is not granted. (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8, 10955(a); see also Cortez, supra; Kleemann, supra.) Also, the petitioner must demonstrate that reconsideration will not be an adequate remedy if a final decision adverse to the petitioner ultimately issues. (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8, § 10955(a).) Here, and based upon the analysis below, the discovery orders are not supported by any record and defendant has a due process right to set the issue of applicant's petition to quash for trial. The violation of defendant's right to due process constitutes substantial prejudice and irreparable harm. Thus, we will grant removal.
What proof carried it
The evidence the panel weighed, by kind.
The WCJ summarily denied defendant's petition to quash by issuing orders to appear and produce documents without a hearing, violating due process.
From the decision · page 3The Appeals Board issues and enforces subpoenas in the same manner as the Civil Discovery Act. (Cal. Lab. Code, § 5710(a); Cal. Code Civ. Proc., § 2016.010, et. seq.) Here, applicant has issued a subpoena for investigation records from two non-party investigation services. It appears that defendant may have used these services in investigating applicant's claim. Defendant filed a petition to quash the subpoenas. The WCJ, in essence, summarily denied defendant's petition to quash when they issued orders for the investigators to appear and produce documents. This violated defendant's right to due process to have a hearing on its petition to quash. Accordingly, removal must be granted to permit defendant its right to a hearing on the petition to quash.
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About this page
- A published decision of the California Workers' Compensation Appeals Board, taken apart by what it turned on. The Board publishes the decision itself; this page adds the extraction and quotes the passage behind every claim.
- The injured worker is not named here, and the case caption is not printed. Physicians appear as the decision names them, because a medical opinion is an act in a public proceeding.
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