Victoriano Valadez, Marcos Arellano vs. Progressive Business Corporation, State Compensation Insurance Fund

The Workers' Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB) dismissed the applicant's Petition for Removal as untimely filed. The petition sought to overturn an order relieving the applicant's attorney, which occurred over eight months prior to the filing. While the Board would have denied the petition on its merits had it been timely, it emphasized that the WCJ's prior order relieving counsel was not a final determination of substantive rights. The WCAB also clarified that claims of attorney misconduct and requests for case files must be raised before the WCJ.