Colorado Division of Insurance v. Trujillo

2012 COA 54, 337 P.3d 1210, 2012 Colo. App. LEXIS 460, 2012 WL 1036066
CourtColorado Court of Appeals
DecidedMarch 29, 2012
DocketNo. 11CA0622
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 2012 COA 54 (Colorado Division of Insurance v. Trujillo) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Colorado Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Colorado Division of Insurance v. Trujillo, 2012 COA 54, 337 P.3d 1210, 2012 Colo. App. LEXIS 460, 2012 WL 1036066 (Colo. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

Opinion by

Judge TAUBMAN.

11 In this case concerning the fiduciary duties owed by a bail bonding agent to his [1212]*1212client, respondent, Milton Michael Trujillo, appeals the final order of petitioner, the Colorado Division of Insurance (Division), affirming the initial decision of the agency's administrative law judge (ALJ) to revoke and deny his application for renewal of his bail bonding agent and insurance producer licenses.1 We affirm.

I. Background

{2 In December 2004, Connie Espinoza gave Trujillo, a licensed bail bonding agent and insurance producer, $3,500 in cash to post bond for her son. Although Trujillo did not provide Espinoza with a formal receipt, he wrote on the back of a business card that he had received $3,500 from Espinoza on that date "for Ted Espinoza's bond" and signed his name.

T8 Trujillo was unable to post bond for Espinoza's son, however. Rather, on the same day he received the premium from Espinoza, he gave Connie Cordova, an acquaintance of Espinoza's son, $2,360-the $3, 500 less $1,140 used to post a bond for Cordova's friend. Trujillo did not immediately advise Espinoza of, and Espinoza did not otherwise consent to, this transaction.

14 Several months later, Espinoza sent the Division a letter in which she complained that Trujillo refused to credit $3,500 to her and "still [had] [her] money."

T5 Although the Division took no immediate action, it filed a complaint against Trujillo in March 2009. It also denied Trujillo's application for renewal of his licenses in April 2009, thereafter amending the complaint to include facts concerning the application denial.

T6 A two-day hearing on the matter was held in late September 2010 before an ALJ. Witnesses testified that Connie Cordova had given Espinoza at least part of the $8,500, but differed as to whether Cordova owed or merely lent the money to Espinoza's son. Espinoza herself testified that the total amount came from cashing Cordova's money orders.

T7 In closing argument, Trujillo contended that, because the $3,500 premium Espinoza gave to him was actually Cordova's, Cordova was entitled to the money; therefore, returning it to her and not Espinoza was proper under the statutory scheme.

18 Ultimately, the ALJ found Trujillo liable on nine of the twelve counts the Division brought against him and ordered his licenses revoked and applications for renewal denied.

T9 Upon Trujillo's notice of exceptions to the initial decision, the Division adopted the ALJ's initial decision except as to the eviden-tiary finding of fact that "the original source of the $3,500 is not clear from the record." This appeal followed.

IL Breach of Fiduciary Duties

1 10 Trujillo contends the Division erred in denying renewal of his insurance producer and bail bonding agent licenses because the agency misinterpreted section 10-2-704, C.R.S.2011, when it determined that he owed a fiduciary duty to Espinoza and should not have returned the bond premium to Cordova.2 We disagree.

[1213]*1213A. Standard of Review

{11 The Colorado Administrative Procedure Act (APA), section 24-4-106(7) and (11)(e), C.R.8.2011, governs our review. We may only reverse the decision of an administrative ageney if we find the agency acted arbitrarily or capriciously, made a decision unsupported by the record, erroneously interpreted the law, or exceeded its authority. Lawley v. Dep't of Higher Educ., 36 P.3d 1239, 1247 (Colo.2001).

112 Where the decision under review concerns the agency's interpretation of regulations and statutory provisions, we review the interpretation de novo because our review of such questions is a matter of law. § 24-4-106(7). However, "we accord deference to the interpretation of a statute or regulation by the ageney charged with its administration" and generally accept the agency's interpretation if it has a reasonable basis in the law and is warranted by the record. Nededog v. Colorado Dep't of Health Care Policy & Financing, 98 P.3d 960, 962 (Colo.App.2004); see also City of Commerce City v. Enclave W., Inc., 185 P.3d 174, 178 (Colo.2008).

113 A court reviewing an interpretation of a statute by an agency must apply a two-part test. Mile High Greyhound Park, Inc. v. Colorado Racing Comm'n, 12 P.3d 351, 353 (Colo.App.2000). The court first must determine if the legislature has directly spoken to the precise question at issue. If the intent is clearly articulated in the statute, the court is required to give effect to such unambiguously expressed intent. Id.

{14 However, if the statute is silent or ambiguous with respect to the specific issue, the inquiry becomes whether the agency's interpretation is based on a permissible construction of the statute. Id. When the statute is silent as to the issue to be determined, "a court may not substitute its own construction of a statutory provision for a reasonable interpretation made by the administrator of an ageney." Id. at 353-54 (quoting Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of Colorado, Inc. v. Colo rado Dep't of Revenue, 919 P.2d 894, 897 (Colo.App.1996)).

115 In reviewing the agency's construction, we rely on the basic rules of statutory construction, affording the language of the provisions at issue their ordinary and common-sense meaning. Wash. County Bd. of Equalization v. Petron Dev. Co., 109 P.3d 146, 149 (Colo.2005);, Colorado State Pers. Bd. v. Dep't of Corr, 988 P.2d 1147, 1150 (Colo.1999).

B. Analysis

116 Bail bonding agents are licensed and regulated by the Division pursuant to statutes contained in titles 10 and 12 of the Colorado Revised Statutes. Seq, eg., §§ 10-2-104, 401, -704, -801, C.R.S8.2011; §§ 12-7-101 to -118, C.R.S.2011. A bail bonding agent comes under the ambit of article 2 of title 10, the "Colorado Producer Licensing Model Act," as an "insurance producer." The term connotes, as relevant here, "a person who solicits, negotiates, effects, procures, delivers, renews, continues, or binds [plolicies of insurance for risks residing, located, or to be performed in [Colorado]." § 10-2-108(6)(a), C.R.S.2011. An insurance producer may be licensed in one or more lines of authority, including bail bonding agent authority. § 10-2-407(1)(F), C.R.S.2011 (such authority includes bonding as a surety agent, a cash bonding agent, and a professional cash bail agent). Such authority differs widely from the authority to broker life or property insurance. Nonetheless, title 10 applies to all types of insurance.

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2012 COA 54, 337 P.3d 1210, 2012 Colo. App. LEXIS 460, 2012 WL 1036066, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/colorado-division-of-insurance-v-trujillo-coloctapp-2012.