Luxor Cabs, Inc. v. Applied Underwriters Captive Risk Assurance Co.

242 Cal. Rptr. 3d 87, 30 Cal. App. 5th 970
California Court of Appeal, 5th District·Decided December 4, 2018·No. A147962·Published·Cited by 14 cases

Opinion

REARDON, J.**

*974In this case involving the provision of workers' compensation insurance to Luxor Cabs, Inc. and Luxor Executive Car Service, LLC (Luxor), appellants Applied Underwriters Captive Risk Assurance Company, Inc. (AUCRA), California Insurance Company (CIC), and certain other affiliated entities1 challenge the denial of AUCRA's motion to compel arbitration pursuant to the terms of a reinsurance participation agreement (RPA) between Luxor and AUCRA. In particular, appellants argue that the trial court erred both in determining the issue of arbitrability-given the existence of a valid delegation clause-and in subsequently concluding that both the delegation clause and the arbitration provision of which it is a part are unenforceable. The EquityComp workers' compensation insurance program at issue in this case has garnered nationwide attention from numerous administrative agencies and judicial tribunals. (See, e.g., Minnieland Private Day School, Inc. v. Applied Underwriters Captive Risk Assurance Co. (4th Cir. 2017) 867 F.3d 449 [challenge to EquityComp program under Virginia insurance laws]; South Jersey Sanitation Co. v. Applied Underwriters Captive Risk Assurance Co. (3d Cir. 2016) 840 F.3d 138 [challenge under Nebraska insurance laws to use of EquityComp program in New Jersey];

*975Vermont Dept. of Financial Regulation (Oct. 30, 2015, No. 15-026-I) Stipulation and Consent Order at p. 6 [concluding that, through use of an RPA in a similar program, AUCRA and its affiliates "de facto engaged in the sale of an unfiled, unapproved insurance product in Vermont"].) In this state, the California Insurance Commissioner (Insurance Commissioner)

*91issued an extensive 2016 administrative decision concluding that the EquityComp program violated state insurance laws and that the RPA between AUCRA and the insured employer in that case was void as a matter of law. (Matter of Shasta Linen Supply, Inc. , Decision & Order (June 22, 2016) file No. AHB-WCA-14-31 (Shasta Linen ).)2 Even more recently, the Fourth Appellate District came to a similar decision in Nielsen Contracting, Inc. v. Applied Underwriters, Inc. (2018) 22 Cal.App.5th 1096, 232 Cal.Rptr.3d 282 ( Nielsen )-a case essentially identical to this one involving arbitrability under an RPA. Following these persuasive prior decisions, we affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

In 2012, Luxor engaged defendant Heffernan Insurance Brokers (Heffernan) to provide it with workers' compensation insurance quotes. One of the options Heffernan presented to Luxor was the EquityComp program from Applied Underwriters, Inc. (Applied). In the "Workers' Compensation Program Proposal & Rate Quotation," Applied-an indirect subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc.-described EquityComp as a "seamlessly integrated package providing nationwide workers' compensation coverage and sophisticated risk financing solutions." (Italics added.) Luxor decided to participate in the EquityComp program and thus, in July 2012, executed a "Request to Bind Coverages & Services" with Applied (Request to Bind) pursuant to which Applied agreed to "cause to be issued" a workers' compensation insurance policy, subject to Luxor executing the RPA. In accordance with the Request to Bind, a one-year guaranteed cost workers' compensation insurance policy (collectively with all renewals, the Policy) was issued to Luxor by CIC, a wholly owned subsidiary of North American Casualty Company, which is in turn wholly owned by Applied. "Under a guaranteed cost policy, the insured company pays a fixed annual premium for the policy term, regardless of *976subsequent loss experience." (Shasta Linen , supra , at p. 12.) The CIC Policy was based on forms and rates that had been filed with California's rating organization-the Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau (WCIRB)-and approved by the Insurance Commissioner as required by California Law, including section 11658 of the Insurance Code.3 According to the Insurance Commissioner, "[a] great majority of California employers receive workers' compensation insurance coverage through guaranteed cost policies." (Shasta Linen , supra , at p. 12.)

However, as stated above, as a condition for the issuance of the Policy by CIC, Luxor was also required to enter into the RPA with AUCRA, another wholly owned subsidiary of Applied. The RPA had a *92three-year term and set forth different calculations for "[p]remium and [l]oss [a]mounts" applicable to "all payroll, premium, and losses occurring under the [CIC Policy]." It also applied distinct early cancellation terms should Luxor cancel the RPA or should the Policy be cancelled or not renewed during the RPA's three-year term. And, it required Luxor to make certain capital deposits into a "segregated protective cell" maintained by AUCRA for payment of potential profits and losses in connection with the Policy. In addition, the RPA included an arbitration provision mandating resolution of "any dispute ... arising out of or related to this Agreement" through binding arbitration in the British Virgin Islands and under the provisions of the American Arbitration Association. In particular, the arbitration agreement provided that "[a]ll disputes between the parties relating in any way to (1) the execution and delivery, construction or enforceability of this [RPA], (2) the management or operations of [AUCRA], or (3) any other breach or claimed breach of this [RPA] or the transactions contemplated herein" were subject to mandatory binding arbitration. Finally, the RPA contained a choice of law provision stating: "This Agreement shall be exclusively governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Nebraska and any matter concerning this Agreement that is not subject to the dispute resolution provisions ... hereof shall be resolved exclusively by the courts of Nebraska without reference to its conflict of laws."

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Luxor Cabs, Inc. v. Applied Underwriters Captive Risk Assurance Co., 242 Cal. Rptr. 3d 87, 30 Cal. App. 5th 970 (Cal. Ct. App. 2018).

242 Cal. Rptr. 3d 87 (Luxor Cabs, Inc. v. Applied Underwriters Captive Risk Assurance Co.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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