Gunches, James

Applicant's attorney filed a Petition for Reconsideration challenging a WCJ's Finding & Order that denied additional Labor Code section 5710 deposition attorney fees, as well as associated section 5814 penalties, costs, and sanctions stemming from an alleged unreasonable delay in payment. The dispute centered on the attorney's claim for additional 'prep time' (approximately a half hour per deposition) beyond what defendant already paid, and a claim that payments were untimely. The WCJ found the applicant credibly testified at two depositions and at trial that he spent only about 10 minutes preparing for the first deposition and 20-25 minutes for the second, contradicting the attorney's declared 0.67 hours. The WCJ also found the attorney's fee demands were procedurally defective for failing to include the attorney's State Bar number as required by CCR 10547, waiving the delay argument, and that no party had stipulated the payments were late. The Appeals Board adopted the WCJ's Report, gave great weight to the credibility determinations under Garza, and denied reconsideration. The Board also addressed the timeliness of its own action under the amended Labor Code section 5909.