What the panel ordered
Petition for reconsideration granted; WCJ Order dismissing lien rescinded; matter returned to WCJ for further proceedings.
Petition for reconsideration filed by lien claimant Unicare Surgery Center seeking review of WCJ Order dismissing lien issued September 16, 2024.
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 lien claimant was not properly served with the notice of hearing or the Order dismissing the lien, violating due process rights and WCAB rules, rendering the dismissal order void and warranting reconsideration.
From the decision · page 4II. There are 25 days allowed within which to file a petition for reconsideration from a "final" decision that has been served by mail upon an address in California. (Lab. Code, § 5900(a), 5903; Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8, § 10605(a)(1).) However, contrary to WCAB Rules regarding filing and service of documents, lien claimant's representative was not served with the Order dismissing Unicare Surgery Center's lien. (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8, § 10610, 10615, 10625, 10628.) Because lien claimant's representative was not served with the Order of dismissal, the Petition is timely. The notice of hearing for the lien conference was returned as undeliverable, thus it is not clear that lien claimant received notice of the hearing. (Lab. Code, § 5504; Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8, § 10625(d).) Lien claimant's non-attorney representative asserts that they did not receive proper notice of the lien conference hearing, which raises procedural due process concerns as to whether the required notice was received.