Summerford v. Board of Retirement

Opinion

KINGSLEY, J.

This is an appeal from a judgment granting a peremptory writ of mandate directing the Board of Retirement of the Santa

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Barbara County Employees’ Retirement Association to issue petitioner Summerford a service-connected disability retirement.

Rex Summerford was employed as a deputy sheriff for the County of Santa Barbara and had been a member of the County Employees’ Retirement Association since 1965.

On March 23, 1974, Summerford applied to the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB) for disability compensation as a result of certain psychiatric injuries incurred in the course of his employment with the county. On February 7, 1975, a second application, based on the same injury, was filed with the County Employees’ Retirement Association for service-connected disability retirement.

On July 22, 1975, a Workers’ Compensation trial judge ruled that Summerford had, in fact, sustained a psychiatric injury which had resulted in 100 percent permanent disability thereby entitling him to the requested disability compensation. The findings of the trial judge were affirmed by the WCAB on May 17, 1976.

The board of retirement, desiring to make its own determinations regarding the applicant’s injuries, arranged for a psychiatric examination of Summerford pursuant to Government Code section 31723.

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Summer-ford declined to attend the meeting, allegedly believing the findings of the WCAB to be conclusive as to the retirement board as well. As a result of his failure to meet with the board-appointed physician, his application for work-related disability retirement was denied on June 16, 1976.

The only question before us on appeal is whether the decision of the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board is binding upon the board of retirement under the doctrine of res judicata.

A judgment in one tribunal is res judicata as to subsequent proceedings where: (1) the identical issue is under consideration; (2) a final judgment was reached on the merits in the earlier adjudication; (3) the party against whom that judgment is now asserted was a party or in privity with a party in the prior action.