Garamendi

Introduction

The Insurance Commissioner of the State of California and the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau (WCIRB) appeal from a judgment granting a petition for writ of mandate. The judgment requires the Insurance Commissioner to set aside and vacate his decision interpreting certain regulations governing the reporting status of workers’ compensation claims, as applied to three specific claims made against Simi Corporation.

Appellants contend the trial court erred in failing to dismiss the case as moot, in setting aside the Insurance Commissioner’s interpretation of his own regulations and in admitting into evidence documents not presented to the Insurance Commissioner in the underlying administrative proceeding. We agree with the second of appellant’s contentions, that the Insurance Commissioner’s interpretation of the regulations at issue was entitled to deference and must be upheld. We therefore reverse the judgment.

Statutory and Regulatory Framework

Workers’ compensation laws are to be “liberally construed by the courts with the purpose of extending their benefits for the protection of persons injured in the course of their employment.” (Lab. Code,…