Off on a Technicality?

Here's an interesting one - a bridge contractor had a fatality, was cited by Cal/OSHA for six serious violations, and fined $26k. Several years later, after time in the court system, the contractor got off because "Cal/OSHA hadn’t written the name of the joint venture correctly on the investigation report. They said it violated code that required the state to cite “the correct legal entity.” According to the article in the Las Vegas Sun, "On business cards, the joint venture called itself Shimmick-Obayashi, which is how OSHA had referred to it. But its legal name was Shimmick Construction Co. Inc./Obayashi Corp., Joint Venture."

I wonder if this court battle was cost effective? The contractor didn't suggest that they had not violated the safety rules. Could a 4 year court battle be worth vacating $26k? Or, is there something I'm missing? Read the whole story in the Las Vegas Sun.