Declarations and brief continue to be filed in federal court for and against imposing a preliminary injunction halting the implementation of newly adopted SB 1160. This new law provides for a stay on lien claims filed by indicted medical providers until after their case has been resolved.

Dr. Eduardo Anguizola who is facing multiple counts of insurance fraud filed by Orange County prosecutors is the lead plaintiff who claims Labor Code 4615 violates the procedural component of the due process clause because it immediately stays all liens without notice or a hearing.

The defendants responded that Section 4615 affords sufficient process because Plaintiffs still have the same rights afforded to them by the workers’ compensation scheme generally. The Defense filed a 117 page Declaration of Workers’ Compensation Chief Judge Paige Levy that articulated how lien claimants subject to 4615 have rights to due process under the new law, and indeed attached several illustrative cases on the stay law that have been decided by either Removal or Reconsideration by the WCAB.

Essentially she pointed out several panel decisions that have held that any lien claimant who asserts they do not fall subject to the stay have the right to have their argument heard and decided upon filing a DOR on the issue. Any WCJ that had refused to do so was overturned. Judge Levy pointed out the statutory and regulatory provisions that allowed lien claimants to challenge the application of the “automatic stay” to their individual cases.

The plaintiffs were given time to rebut Judge Levy, and filed a brief and many declarations accordingly. They claim these documents “address the seriously misleading declaration of Judge Levy.”

They argue “Now, faced with the State-submitted declaration of Paige S. Levy, the Chief Judge of the California Division of Workers’ Compensation, the Court gave the Plaintiffs a fair chance to reveal what is occurring in the California workers’ compensation courts and to address the seriously misleading declaration of Judge Levy.”

They say “Judge Levy offers only anecdotal references to a handful of cases to support the State’s claim that workers’ compensation judges are providing due process to claimants affected by Section 4615. Judge Levy’s declaration is wholly refuted by the detailed declarations submitted concurrently with this brief and is contravened by the DIR and WCAB’s own publications, guidelines, procedures, manuals, recent public admissions, website, and press releases.”

They further argue that “the regulations providing procedures like Petitions for Reconsideration and Petitions for Removal are inapplicable because they arise only after a Court has issued an order. However, Section 4615 stays are imposed not by judicial orders but by clerical actions performed in a backroom and distributed to WCAB judges, typically by “flagging” the liens on the EAMS system, resulting in their dismissal by operation of law, a situation in which the workers’ compensation court does not hear the matter at all.”

Plaintiffs attach numerous declarations by lien claimants who portray the situation for lien claimants quite differently from Judge Levy. One of them was from Attorney Marty Renetzky who started and ran Medical Collection Company for 6 years and 6 medical clinics for Dr. Floyd Cord from 1981 through 1983. He also started and ran Vista Bay Medical Group until 1991, started and ran Golden State Auto Appraisal Company for 7 years, and currently runs Crestview Medical Collections.

He says “American Allied Diagnostics Medical Group, Inc., has taken all steps to appropriately document and pursue its liens. This includes filing liens, paying activation fees and appearing at all relevant hearings.” Yet he says its liens ended up on the stayed liens list although they have not been charged with any crime. They were never given official notice of this, and he says they have no procedure to contest this status.

He does not say that any petition for reconsideration or removal has been filed or rejected, so he does not specifically show how Judge Levy was wrong or how the procedure outlined in her declaration does not work for this lien claimant.

Another court hearing is set for September 28, 2017 at 8:30 am. Judge Wu may make is ruling on a preliminary injunction at this next hearing.