Clark v. Cannon Steel Erection Co.

835 N.E.2d 394, 359 Ill. App. 3d 739, 296 Ill. Dec. 360, 2005 Ill. App. LEXIS 866
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedAugust 24, 2005
Docket1-04-2739 Rel
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 835 N.E.2d 394 (Clark v. Cannon Steel Erection Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Clark v. Cannon Steel Erection Co., 835 N.E.2d 394, 359 Ill. App. 3d 739, 296 Ill. Dec. 360, 2005 Ill. App. LEXIS 866 (Ill. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinion

JUSTICE SOUTH

delivered the opinion of the court:

Defendant, Cannon Steel Erection Company, appeals from an order of the circuit court of Cook County which granted the motion of the plaintiff, the Director of the Illinois Department of Insurance, as liquidator of Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council Risk Management Association, Inc. (BYRMA), for summary judgment. Defendant’s cross-motion for partial summary judgment was denied, and judgment was entered in plaintiffs favor in the amount of $186,318.

BACKGROUND

Plaintiff pursued this action to recover unpaid premiums and assessments that defendant allegedly owed under a group self-insured workers’ compensation fund operated by BYRMA. The fund was created under section 4a of the Workers’ Compensation Act (820 ILCS 305/4a (West 1996)) 1 and provided workers’ compensation insurance and employer liability insurance to its members. In 1996, defendant entered into an agreement (the pooling agreement) to become a member of the group self-insurance pool and received a policy of insurance that defined the coverage that it obtained. Specifically, for purposes of this case, the workers’ compensation coverage required BYRMA to pay benefits due to defendant’s employees under the Workers’ Compensation Act, while the employers’ liability insurance provided defendant coverage for claims brought against it by a third party by reason of a claim filed against the third party by one of defendant’s employees. Under both coverages, BYRMA was responsible for defending and indemnifying defendant at BYRMA’s expense.

Defendant was required under the pooling agreement to pay both premiums and assessments and “make prompt payment of all its contributions, premiums, costs and assessments.” The initial premiums were estimated and subject to adjustments after the policy year ended based upon an audit by BYRMA of the participant’s payroll and other business records. In addition, BYRMA could assess additional premiums proportionately among its members during any calendar year if the premiums collected were insufficient to meet the fund’s obligations. For this purpose, the pooling agreement provided, in relevant part:

“D. Costs, Contributions, Distributions and Assessments
1. Each participant shall be responsible for its proportionate share of all BYRMA’s costs, based on premiums or contributions charged to that participant in relation to premiums or contributions charged to all of the participants, including but not limited to risk charges, administrative expenses, losses, and loss adjustment expenses.
* * *
4. In the event that BYRMA deems, in its business judgment, that BYRMA should issue assessments to its participants, in order to meet its obligations to the participants, (and its obligations to employees and their dependents), BYRMA shall do so in accordance with rules established by it, and such assessments shall be equitably apportioned among all participants, and any former participants who are subject to assessments, based on the total amount of premiums or contributions paid or payable by all participants. Participants and former participants shall be liable for any such assessments as provided in this Agreement and as may be required by the Illinois Insurance Code, the Illinois Workers Compensation Act, Illinois Occupational disease laws, and the regulations of the Illinois Department of Insurance and Industrial Commission.
E. Duration of Liability for Additional Assessments
Each participant shall be liable for assessments should they occur, for claims filed during the period of its participation, regardless of subsequent termination from BYRMA.”

On April 21, 1999, the circuit court entered an agreed order for conservation of assets in case No. 99 CH 6024, which authorized the Director of the Illinois Department of Insurance to take possession and control of BYRMA’s property, accounts, assets and business records, and to conserve the same. On December 20, 1999, an agreed order of rehabilitation with a finding of insolvency was entered against BYRMA. Then, on January 22, 2001, the circuit court entered an agreed order of liquidation with a finding of insolvency against BYRMA. All three of the agreed orders in case No. 99 CH 6024 were entered pursuant to the provisions of article XIII of the Illinois Insurance Code (Code) (215 ILCS 5/187 et seq. (West 2004)).

Prior to the orders of rehabilitation and liquidation, BYRMA filed a breach of contract suit against defendant in the instant case on July 12, 1999. BYRMA sought $125,786 in unpaid audit premiums and assessments from defendant on defendant’s 1996, 1997 and 1998 policies, which it alleged defendant was obligated to pay under the pooling agreement. Plaintiff, as BYRMA’s liquidator, ultimately filed a sixth amended complaint alleging that defendant owed, as a result of various audits of defendant’s payroll and business records, an audit premium of $44,932 on the 1997 policy and $56,931 on the 1998 policy for a total of $101,863. Plaintiff further alleged that defendant owed a total of $84,455 for its participant share of the assessments for the 1996, 1997 and 1998 policies based upon the following calculation:

Date Defendant was Assessed Amount
1996 Policy
36305 $3,535
36885 $3,547
December 2001 $3,547
1997 Policy
36300 $5,253
36331 $7,128
36885 $7,142
December 2001 $7,142
November 2002 $7,142
1998 Policy
36331 $7,991
36885 $8,007
December 2001 $8,007
December 2002 $8,007
December 2003 $8,007
Total Assessments Due = $84,455.

Plaintiff alleged that defendant failed to pay, as required under the pooling agreement, any part of the balance of these premiums and assessments, which totaled $186,318.

On June 5, 2002, defendant filed a counterclaim seeking a setoff for all amounts that it had paid or would be obligated to pay due to BYRMA’s failure, after entry of the order of liquidation, to defend and indemnify it against applicable workers’ compensation claims.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
835 N.E.2d 394, 359 Ill. App. 3d 739, 296 Ill. Dec. 360, 2005 Ill. App. LEXIS 866, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/clark-v-cannon-steel-erection-co-illappct-2005.