ADJ19771743 — California WCAB decision

What the panel ordered

Petition for Reconsideration dismissed as premature; matter remanded for hearing on whether good cause exists to set aside the Stipulation and Award.

Defendant petitioned for reconsideration of a Stipulation and Award approved by the WCJ on August 11, 2025; the WCAB considered the petition and the WCJ's report, and dismissed the petition as premature, remanding for a hearing on good cause to set aside the stipulation.

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What was disputed, and how it came out

Each issue the panel decided, with the reasoning it gave. An outcome is what this panel did on this record — not a rule, and not a prediction.

Reconsideration / removalMoot

The Petition for Reconsideration was dismissed as premature because no evidence of good cause to set aside the Stipulation and Award had been admitted into the record; the matter was remanded for a hearing to develop the record.

From the decision · page 5Accordingly, we will dismiss the Petition for Reconsideration and return this matter to this trial level. Upon return, we recommend that the WCJ treat the Petition as a petition to set aside the Stipulation and set a hearing as there is currently no evidence admitted into the record regarding defendant's contentions. At the hearing, the parties will have an opportunity to create a record, raise all relevant issues, and submit evidence upon which a decision can be made by the WCJ. After the WCJ issues a decision, either party may then timely seek reconsideration of that decision.

The rules the panel named

Authorities as the decision cited them, with how this panel applied each one.

Lab. Code, § 5909

A petition for reconsideration is deemed denied unless acted upon within 60 days from the date a trial judge transmits a case to the appeals board; service of the accompanying report constitutes notice.

The Board acted within 60 days of transmission, so the petition was timely considered.

From the decision · page 2Former Labor Code section 59091 provided that a petition for reconsideration was deemed denied unless the Appeals Board acted on the petition within 60 days from the date of filing. (Lab. Code, § 5909.) Effective July 2, 2024, section 5909 was amended to state in relevant part that:

Lab. Code, § 5803; County of Sacramento v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd. (Weatherall) (2000) 77 Cal.App.4th 1114; Lab. Code, § 5705

The party seeking to set aside a stipulation must show good cause, such as fraud, duress, mistake, etc.; the burden of proof is on the moving party.

Defendant must show good cause to set aside the Stipulation and Award; no evidence was admitted, so the petition was premature.

From the decision · page 3Appeals Bd. (Weatherall) (2000) 77 Cal.App.4th 1114, 1121 [65 Cal.Comp.Cases 1].) As defined in Weatherall, "A stipulation is `An agreement between opposing counsel... ordinarily entered into for the purpose of avoiding delay, trouble, or expense in the conduct of the action,' (Ballentine, Law Dict. (1930) p. 1235, col. 2) and serves `to obviate need for proof or to narrow range of litigable issues' (Black's Law Dict. (6th ed. 1990) p. 1415, col. 1) in a legal proceeding." (Weatherall, supra, at 1118.) Once it is determined that an agreement is final, the party seeking to set aside the agreement must make a showing of good cause. Good cause includes fraud, duress, undue influence, mutual mistake of fact, mistake of law, invalidity of execution, incompetency, or minority at the time of execution of the agreement. (See California Workers' Compensation Law (Cont. Ed. Bar 4th Ed.)

ADJ19771743 · October 27, 2025

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