What the panel ordered
Petition for Reconsideration denied.
Petition for Reconsideration filed by Vons from the WCJ's Joint Findings and Orders dated 09/14/2021 regarding enforcement proceedings of Joint Stipulations with Request for Award dated 10/23/1990.
This docket was decided more than once. Shown here is the latest released decision; we also hold February 26, 2021.
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 WCJ and WCAB found that the Joint Award of 10/23/1990, which stipulated 50% liability for future medical care costs to each defendant, remains enforceable against Vons despite a subsequent Compromise & Release between Vons and the applicant that did not include Armstrong and did not extinguish Vons' liability.
From the decision · page 6"The Defendants agree to be responsible for the cost of future medical care in equal shares of 50% each to be administered by Vons/Comco."
The facts that decided it
What the panel treated as outcome-determinative, and which side it favoured.
No evidence was provided by Vons to support defenses of laches or waiver, and no intentional relinquishment of rights by Armstrong was found.
Favours Defendant prevailed
Lack of evidence on these defenses supported enforcement of the Joint Award against Vons.
From the decision · page 7Though the Appeals Board provided this succinct roadmap to Vons there is no mention of any facts in line with supporting case law by Vons in their trial brief to support the application of the Doctrine of Laches. Simply put, it seems certain there was delay on the part of Armstrong in seeking enforcement of the
The Joint Stipulations with Request for Award dated 10/23/1990 stipulated that Vons and Armstrong each are responsible for 50% of future medical care costs.
Favours Defendant prevailed
This stipulation was found binding and enforceable, and not extinguished by the subsequent Compromise & Release between Vons and the applicant.
From the decision · page 6"The Defendants agree to be responsible for the cost of future medical care in equal shares of 50% each to be administered by Vons/Comco."
Vons entered into a Compromise & Release with the applicant in 2009 without Armstrong's consent, which did not extinguish Vons' liability for future medical care costs under the Joint Award.
Favours Defendant prevailed
The unilateral action by Vons was at their own peril and did not modify the binding agreement with Armstrong.
From the decision · page 6This agreement was entered into by applicant, Vons and Armstrong. The compromise and release that Vons and applicant entered into on 10/23/2009 does not in any shape, form or fashion change this binding agreement between Vons and Armstrong regarding the costs of future medical care at 50% to each defendant. This WCJ previously addressed this and the conclusion remains the same:
The rules the panel named
Authorities as the decision cited them, with how this panel applied each one.
Labor Code Sec. 5803
The appeals board has continuing jurisdiction over all its orders, decisions, and awards made and entered under the provisions of this division.
Applied to uphold enforcement of the Joint Award of 10/23/1990 against Vons.
From the decision · page 6Labor Code Sec. 5803 "Appeals board continuing jurisdiction" states in pertinent part:
What proof carried it
The evidence the panel weighed, by kind.
No evidence provided by Vons to support application of Doctrine of Laches or Doctrine of Waiver; no intentional or voluntary relinquishment of rights by Armstrong found.
From the decision · page 7Though the Appeals Board provided this succinct roadmap to Vons there is no mention of any facts in line with supporting case law by Vons in their trial brief to support the application of the Doctrine of Laches. Simply put, it seems certain there was delay on the part of Armstrong in seeking enforcement of the
The same issues, filtered across the whole corpus — or paste your own facts and let the search rank by factor match.
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.
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