Summit Care-California, Inc. v. Deartment of Health Services

The State Department of Health Services (Department) appeals from the judgment granting relief under Code of Civil Procedure section 473 to Summit Care-California, Inc. (Summit), the owner and operator of a facility known as Corbin Convalescent Hospital. 1 The Department contends: “[I.] Because the department has no legal duty to refer a citation contest to the Attorney General’s office unless it receives a timely notice to do so, a writ of mandate cannot issue to compel that act and the trial court abused its discretion by issuing the writ. [II.] A limitations period may not be avoided by an order granting relief under Code of Civil Procedure section 473. [III.] [The r]ecord clearly demonstrates that the Department should not be estopped from asserting [Summit’s] failure to comply with [the] statutory limitations period in Code of Civil Procedure section 473.”

So far as we have been able to glean from this most meager appellate record, on January 31, 1984, the Department issued citation Nos. 92H-016-133 and 92H-016-134 to Summit. Just two days later a third citation, No. 92H-016-138, was issued. On February 6,1984, Summit requested a citation review conference (CRC),…