Beck, Natalia & Fortes, Kim

This consolidated lien proceeding involved facility-fee lien claims filed by two outpatient surgery centers, Beach Cities Surgery Center (BCSC) and Pain Intervention Therapy of San Diego (PITSD), each owned one-third by Dr. Kevin Barkal (a licensed physician) and two-thirds by two chiropractors (Allan and Vallandingham). State Compensation Insurance Fund argued the liens were invalid because Barkal failed to obtain fictitious-name permits from the Medical Board and because nonphysician majority ownership of a physician's medical practice violated state law. The WCJ found that BCSC and PITSD were outpatient surgery centers billing facility fees—not Barkal's medical practices—so no fictitious-name permits were required and the ownership structure did not violate the law. The Appeals Board affirmed, rejecting SCIF's collateral estoppel argument based on Barkal's 2005 stipulated license surrender and finding the Zenith/Capi decision not controlling. The matter was returned to the trial level for further proceedings, including determination of the receivers' request for sanctions under Labor Code section 5813.