Senate Bill 863 in part was designed to combat an acute “lien crisis” in the workers’ compensation system by imposing a $100 “activation fee” on liens filed prior to January 1, 2013. Angelotti Chiropractic and others sued in federal court challenging the constitutionality of these provisions claiming that SB 863 violates the Takings Clause, the Due Process Clause, and the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution.
The trial court issued a preliminary injunction in plaintiffs’ favor as to the Equal Protection claim, but not as to the other claims. Defendants appealed the district court’s issuance of the preliminary injunction and its denial of the motion to dismiss the Equal Protection claim. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeal reversed last June, and vacated the injunction in the published case of Angelotti Chiropractic Inc. v Christine Baker.
The panel held that the district court properly dismissed the Takings Clause claim because the economic impact of SB 863 and its interference with plaintiffs’ expectations was not sufficiently severe to constitute a taking. The panel further concluded that the lien activation fee did not burden any substantive due process right to court access and also rejected plaintiffs’ claim that the retroactive nature of the lien activation fee violated the Due Process Clause.
The lien claimants file a petition for rehearing in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeal. According to the latest status report filed in the underlying federal action, there is not yet any ruling on the petition.
The California Society Of Industrial Medicine (CSIMS) is the association exclusively representing the private physician practicing occupational medicine in California. In the aftermath of the Angelotti decision, and apparently assuming that the petition for rehearing will be denied, has announced a new website, www.lienactivation.com, to assist lien holders to identify unresolved liens.
According to its website “Pending final resolution of the Angelotti litigation, all unresolved liens filed prior to January 1, 2013 are subject to a $100 lien activation fee. This website will enable you to quickly and easily identify all of your unactivated liens and receive a detailed list via email. It doesn’t matter how or when your liens were filed, or if the name of the lien claimant was misspelled at the time of filing. You can find them all using our simple Lien Finder search tool.”