What the panel ordered
The Appeals Board granted defendant's petition for reconsideration, rescinded the July 18, 2025 Order Imposing Sanctions and Costs, and returned the matter to the trial level for further proceedings.
Defendant petitioned for reconsideration of the Order Imposing Sanctions and Costs issued by the WCJ on July 18, 2025, which was granted by the Appeals Board, rescinding the order and returning the matter to the trial level for further proceedings.
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 treated the petition as a request for relief from default judgment of sanctions and costs due to mistake, inadvertence, or excusable neglect, and returned the matter to the trial level for further proceedings without ruling on the merits of the sanctions order.
From the decision · page 5Here, it appears that defendant failed to appear for an expedited hearing, failed to respond to an order to show cause, and failed to respond to a notice of intention to impose sanctions and costs. We have treated defendant's Petition for Reconsideration as a request for relief from what is essentially a default judgment of sanctions and costs on the grounds of mistake, inadvertence, or excusable neglect. (See Code Civ. Proc., § 473(b).) We will return this to the trial level to evaluate defendant's arguments in the first instance. The trial judge may conduct appropriate proceedings prior to deciding the issue of sanctions and costs. We make no judgment as to the merits of the Order issued.
The facts that decided it
What the panel treated as outcome-determinative, and which side it favoured.
Defendant failed to appear at the expedited hearing on November 21, 2024, and failed to respond to the order to show cause and notice of intention to impose sanctions and costs.
Favours Defendant prevailed
This failure led to the initial sanctions and costs order, but the Appeals Board granted reconsideration based on defendant's petition arguing excusable neglect.
From the decision · page 2FACTS Per the WCJ's Report: On November 21, 2024 the matter came before the undersigned for an Expedited Trial based on a Declaration of Readiness to Appear (DOR) filed by Applicant's Attorney on October 18, 2024. Defendants had filed a timely objection to said DOR on October 22, 2024. However, there was no appearance by Defendants at the trial on November 21, 2024. The undersigned noted the failure to appear in the Minutes of Hearing (EAMS DOC ID# 78609362). The undersigned also issued the following order in the Minutes of Hearing: "DEFENSE COUNSEL FAILED TO APPEAR WITHOUT NOTICE TO THE COURT NOR LEAVE OF THE COURT. DEFENDANT IS ORDRED[sic] TO SHOW CAUSE WHY COSTS, ATTORNEY'S FEES AND SANCTIONS SHOULD NOT BE IMPOSED DUE WITHIN 10 DAYS OF TODAY." (EAMS DOC ID# 78609362). There was no response to this Order to Show Cause (OSC) by Defendants nor defense counsel.
The rules the panel named
Authorities as the decision cited them, with how this panel applied each one.
Labor Code section 5909
Petition for reconsideration must be acted upon within 60 days of transmission to the Appeals Board per Labor Code section 5909.
The Appeals Board timely acted on the petition within the 60-day period.
From the decision · page 3I. Former Labor Code1 section 5909 provided that a petition for reconsideration was deemed denied unless the Appeals Board acted on the petition within 60 days from the date of filing. (Lab. Code, § 5909.) Effective July 2, 2024, section 5909 was amended to state in relevant part that:
Code of Civil Procedure section 473(b)
Relief from default judgment may be granted for mistake, inadvertence, or excusable neglect under Code of Civil Procedure section 473(b).
The Appeals Board treated the petition as a request for relief from default judgment of sanctions and costs on these grounds.
From the decision · page 5Here, it appears that defendant failed to appear for an expedited hearing, failed to respond to an order to show cause, and failed to respond to a notice of intention to impose sanctions and costs. We have treated defendant's Petition for Reconsideration as a request for relief from what is essentially a default judgment of sanctions and costs on the grounds of mistake, inadvertence, or excusable neglect. (See Code Civ. Proc., § 473(b).) We will return this to the trial level to evaluate defendant's arguments in the first instance. The trial judge may conduct appropriate proceedings prior to deciding the issue of sanctions and costs. We make no judgment as to the merits of the Order issued.
What proof carried it
The evidence the panel weighed, by kind.
Defendant's failure to appear at expedited hearing, failure to respond to order to show cause, and failure to respond to notice of intention to impose sanctions and costs
From the decision · page 5Here, it appears that defendant failed to appear for an expedited hearing, failed to respond to an order to show cause, and failed to respond to a notice of intention to impose sanctions and costs. We have treated defendant's Petition for Reconsideration as a request for relief from what is essentially a default judgment of sanctions and costs on the grounds of mistake, inadvertence, or excusable neglect. (See Code Civ. Proc., § 473(b).) We will return this to the trial level to evaluate defendant's arguments in the first instance. The trial judge may conduct appropriate proceedings prior to deciding the issue of sanctions and costs. We make no judgment as to the merits of the Order issued.
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About this page
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