What the panel ordered
Petition for Reconsideration by UEBTF denied; January 3, 2025 decision allowing applicant's claim to proceed is affirmed.
Petition for Reconsideration filed by Uninsured Employers Benefits Trust Fund (UEBTF) after January 3, 2025 Opinion and Order Granting Petition for Reconsideration and Decision After Reconsideration; this decision denies UEBTF's petition and affirms allowing applicant to pursue workers' compensation claim despite failure to file proof of claim in bankruptcy.
This docket was decided more than once. Shown here is the latest released decision; we also hold January 3, 2025.
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.
The Appeals Board found that failure to file a proof of claim in the bankruptcy proceedings does not enjoin the applicant from pursuing a workers' compensation claim against the Uninsured Employers Benefits Trust Fund, contrary to UEBTF's argument, based on case law including Ortiz and Slali.
From the decision · page 3Turing to the merits, UEBFT cites to Duncan v. Workers Compensation Appeals Bd. (1998) 63 Cal. Comp. Cases 309 [1998 Cal. Wrk. Comp. LEXIS 4510] to support its argument that a proof of claim must be filed in a Chapter 7 asset bankruptcy proceeding while a proof of claim is not necessary in a Chapter 7 no asset bankruptcy proceeding. While that may be true, contrary to UEBTF's argument, failure to file a proof of claim in either an asset or a no asset proceeding does not enjoin an employee from later seeking payment from UEBTF.