(1) Notwithstanding any provision of articles 40 to 47 of this title 8 to the contrary, at any time prior to the formal adjudication on the record of any issue before the director or an administrative law judge in the office of administrative courts in the department of personnel, any party to a claim may request a prehearing conference before a prehearing administrative law judge in the division for the speedy resolution of or simplification of any issues and to determine the general readiness of remaining issues for formal adjudication on the record. The issues addressed in the prehearing conference may include any issues properly within the authority of a prehearing administrative law judge pursuant to subsection (2) of this section. The filing of an application for hearing with the office of administrative courts in the department of personnel is not a prerequisite to a request for a prehearing conference under this section. The director and the administrative law judges in the office of administrative courts in the department of personnel may also request a prehearing conference under this section.
(2) (a) "Prehearing administrative law judge" means a qualified person appointed by the director pursuant to section 8-47-101 to preside over prehearing conferences pursuant to this section, to approve settlements pursuant to section 8-43-204, to conduct settlement conferences pursuant to section 8-43-206, and to conduct arbitrations pursuant to section 8-43-206.5.
(b) Prehearing administrative law judges have authority to approve any stipulations of the parties and issue interlocutory orders regarding procedural matters. Procedural matters include:
(I) Issuing subpoenas for witnesses and documentary evidence that must be served in the same manner as subpoenas served in district court;
(II) Resolving prehearing evidentiary disputes;
(III) Determining if depositions must be taken;
(IV) Ruling on the imposition of sanctions for discovery disputes provided in the Colorado rules of civil procedure, except rule 107;
(V) Granting or denying requests for extensions of time for taking any action specified in this article 43;
(VI) Resolving disputes regarding discovery, including permission to engage in discovery with a self-represented party;
(VII) Appointing guardians ad litem and conservators, as appropriate, and assessing the reasonable fees and costs for any appointments from one or more of the parties;
(VIII) Determining the ripeness of legal issues for formal adjudication;
(IX) Determining the competency of any party to a claim to enter into settlement agreements; and
(X) Resolving disputes regarding indigency, the content and format of medical records submitted to an independent medical examiner selected pursuant to section 8-42-107.2, including whether medical records are relevant or duplicative, and the allocation of the cost of the IME to the respective parties in excess of the base cost.
(3) An order entered by a prehearing administrative law judge shall be an order of the director and binding on the parties. Such an order shall be interlocutory. Prehearing conferences need not be held on the record; however, any party to a claim may request in advance that a record be made of the prehearing conference, either taken verbatim by a court reporter provided and paid for by the requesting party or electronically recorded by the division.
(4) The director shall adopt rules and regulations as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this section.
Source: L. 94: Entire section added, p. 1875, § 6, effective June 1. L. 2005: (1) amended, p. 855, § 13, effective June 1. L. 2021: (1) and (2) amended, (HB 21-1050), ch. 384, p. 2573, § 9, effective September 7. L. 2023: (2)(b)(VIII) and (2)(b)(IX) amended and (2)(b)(X) added, (HB 23-1076), ch. 370, p. 2225, § 6, effective August 7.
ANNOTATION
Law reviews. For article, "Settlement Procedure in Workers' Compensation Claims", see 46 Colo. Law. 40 (July 2017).
A prehearing administrative law judge has jurisdiction to enter an order approving a settlement agreement in a workers' compensation case. Indus. Claim Appeals Office v. Orth, 965 P.2d 1246 (Colo. 1998).
The orders of a prehearing administrative law judge that relate to prehearing conferences are not final for purposes of appeal. Indus. Claim Appeals Office v. Orth, 965 P.2d 1246 (Colo. 1998).
However, the orders of a prehearing administrative law judge approving a settlement are final for purposes of appeal. Indus. Claim Appeals Office v. Orth, 965 P.2d 1246 (Colo. 1998).
A party may not elect, without fear of consequences, to ignore a ruling of a prehearing administrative law judge in the hope of obtaining a more favorable ruling before the administrative law judge. Kennedy v. Indus. Claim Appeals Office, 100 P.3d 949 (Colo. App. 2004).