Jaime Valles Moreno — ADJ15540017

Defendant, insured by Hartford Casualty and administered by Gallagher Bassett, filed a petition for removal from a WCJ's March 25, 2026 order setting the matter for a mandatory settlement conference on the issue of sanctions. Defendant argued it had not engaged in sanctionable conduct, that the WCJ abandoned the sanctions/NOI process, and that the Board lacked jurisdiction over sanctions after approving a Compromise and Release of applicant's claim. The Appeals Board found removal unwarranted because defendant failed to show substantial prejudice or irreparable harm and failed to demonstrate that reconsideration would be inadequate. The Board reasoned that whether defendant engaged in sanctionable conduct goes to the merits and cannot be decided by summary judgment, and that sanctions payable to the court are not waivable by private agreement. The Board deemed defendant's 'abandonment' argument skeletal and waived for lack of legal authority and characterized the petition as bordering on frivolous, denying removal.