J. P. Cullen & Sons, Inc. v. Mortensen

282 N.W. 504, 229 Wis. 365, 1938 Wisc. LEXIS 298
CourtWisconsin Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 6, 1938
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 282 N.W. 504 (J. P. Cullen & Sons, Inc. v. Mortensen) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wisconsin Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
J. P. Cullen & Sons, Inc. v. Mortensen, 282 N.W. 504, 229 Wis. 365, 1938 Wisc. LEXIS 298 (Wis. 1938).

Opinions

The following opinion was filed November 9, 1938:

Wickhem, J.

The Builders Mutual Casualty Company, a Wisconsin corporation, was engaged in the insurance business from 1915 to January 1, 1933. During all this period the principal part of the company’s business was writing workmen’s compensation insurance, although in January, 1922, its articles were amended so as to permit the company also to engage in writing accident, health, and automobile insurance. It is clear, however, that the only insurance of any consequence, aside from workmen’s compensation policies, which was being written at the time the company went into liquidation was automobile and public liability insurance. During the years 1926 to 1932, inclusive, the company sustained heavy losses, all of its' losses (except upon its portfolio of investments) being in the field of workmen’s com[368]*368pensation insurance. Its other lines of insurance showed a profit. • The loss ratio during the years mentioned varied from $102.52 in 1927 to $148.59 in 1931. By loss ratio of $148.59 it is meant that for each $100’ of premium received in 1931, $148.59 was paid'out for workmen’s compensation liability. On or about January 1, 1933, as a result of the succession of losses and a shrinkage in investment assets, the board of directors decided to place the company in voluntary liquidation. Having levied a seven and their a ten per cent voluntary assessment on policyholders, they later increased the assessment to twenty per cent, offsetting against this assessment such advanced deposit premiums as had been furnished by policyholders. This assessment was for the policy years 1926 to 1931, inclusive. On December 27, 1932, the company entered into a contract with the Employers Mutual Liability Insurance Company of Wausau, whereby the settlement and payment of Builders claims should be handled through the facilities of that company. The agreement provided for the reinsurance of former policyholders of the Builders Mutual with the Employers, and that one tenth of the premium charged by the Employers was to be returned as a credit on certain policyholders’ assessments with the Builders Mutual in view of the fact that the rates charged by the Employers Mutual were ten per cent lower than those charged by the Builders Mutual. Under this contract the Employers engaged in the settling and liquidating of loss claims of the Builders Mutual Casualty Company in all forms. Meantime, the liquidating committee of the company engaged the services of the firm of Duffy, Duffy & Hanson, lawyers, to aid in the collection of the assessments heretofore referred to as voluntary assessments. Prior to the voluntary liquidation, a reinsurance contract had been entered into with the Security Mutual Casualty Company for the year 1932 for the purpose of avoiding any losses [369]*369during that year if liabilities exceeded premiums, the contract providing that the Builders Mutual Casualty Company should be liable for eighty-five per cent of the gross earned premiums for workmen’s compensation and seventy-five per cent of the gross earned premiums for other insurance, and that they should be liable for the losses if they exceeded that amount of premiums.

The liquidation of the company proceeded upon the foregoing basis until August, 1933, when difficulties in collecting the assessment caused the liquidating committee to agree to permit the insurance commissioner of the state of Wisconsin to petition the circuit court for Dane county for authority under sec. 200.08, Stats., to take over the company and liquidate it. This petition was made, and an order for liquidation was entered by the court under date of August 10, 1933. Thereafter, the insurance commissioner issued an order to show cause why an assessment against the members, policyholders, and subscribers of the Builders Mutual Casualty Company should not be made, and at this time there was also filed the insurance commissioner’s petition for first assessment. The petition disclosed that the liabilities and obligations of the Builders Mutual Casualty Company exceeded its available assets by over $200,000; that its assets consisted of accounts receivable of $77,314.76; and its investments, including mortgages, bonds, and real estate of the value of $242,891.29. The petition set forth further that the liabilities were principally claims under workmen’s compensation insurance, although there were claims under other types of insurance. The estimate of outstanding claims was $493,000. Upon hearing, a decree of assessment was entered directing an assessment of twenty per cent of the total earned premium on each policyholder’s workmen’s compensation policy for the years 1926 to 1931, inclusive. It was provided that this assessment should supersede and replace the previous volun[370]*370tary assessment levied by the board of directors. Certain rules and regulations were presented to the circuit court for Dane county for approval in accordance with the provisions of sec. 200.08 (6), and were approved. The rules contained an order appointing Mr. Russell Hanson of the firm of Duffy, Duffy & Hanson as special deputy insurance commissioner tO' assist in liquidating, and Mr. Ben Kuechle, manager of the Employers Mutual Liability Insurance Company, as special deputy to act in liquidation of claims. The books of the company which were located in Madison, where the company had its principal office, were moved to' Fond du Lac, and an office established there by Mr. Hanson. Proceedings were then commenced for the purpose of collecting assessments and liquidating assets.

The procedure consisted of billing policyholders with successive notices of assessment, personally contacting policyholders, and ultimately bringing suit for delinquent assessments. The receipts were turned over to Deputy Kuechle to be used in settlement of claims. Between August 15, 1933, and September 30, 1937, the deputy in charge of claims received from the liquidation of assets the sum of $348,389.90, and turned over to the deputy in charge of liquidation the sum of $281,547.88. The balance, except for two items, was disbursed for attorneys’ fees, office rent, supplies, sheriff’s fees, etc. The sum of $14,572.73 was repaid to the First National Bank of Madison to discharge a loan to the Builders Mutual Casualty Company secured by collateral which was released by the payment. There remained on deposit the sum of $2,704.13.

On September 15, 1937, the commissioner of insurance petitioned the circuit court for Dane county for the levy of a second assessment in the amount of $495,589.19. This amounted to' twenty per cent of the earned workmen’s compensation premiums on policies for the years 1926 to 1932, [371]*371inclusive. The petition came on for hearing on October 11, 1937, November 2, 1937, and December 9, 1937, and objections to the granting of the petition were presented by various groups of policyholders. The showing made to the court was that outstanding liabilities amounted to $135,000, all of which were workmen’s compensation claims, and that the expenses for final liquidation would be between $23,000 to $25,000. Petitioner admitted cash in his possession of $2,704.13, and estimated that $27,500 might be collected on the first assessment over a period of some years. The assessment of $495,589.19 was asked for on the basis of an estimate grounded on past experience of the liquidators that approximately twenty-five per cent of this sum would be collectible and that an assessment of this size was necessary in order to insure enough funds to meet the remaining claims and expenses of liquidation.

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Bluebook (online)
282 N.W. 504, 229 Wis. 365, 1938 Wisc. LEXIS 298, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/j-p-cullen-sons-inc-v-mortensen-wis-1938.