Meidinger, Zoey

Defendant sought reconsideration and/or removal of a December 21, 2023 minute order taking its Petition for Credit (Lab. Code § 3861) off calendar (OTOC) for further discovery. Defendant contended the WCJ had actually denied the credit petition while refusing to issue a final order, violating its appellate and due process rights. The Board dismissed the Petition for Reconsideration because the OTOC was a non-final, interlocutory order. The Board granted removal solely to issue a Notice of Intention to Impose Sanctions against attorney Juan Bustos, the firm Tobin Lucks LLP, and Employers Assurance San Francisco under Labor Code section 5813, finding the verified petition appeared to contain false and misleading factual statements because the record was clear that the WCJ never ruled on the credit petition but merely took it off calendar for discovery. No final decision on the merits of removal was made.