New South Life Insurance v. Lindsay

187 S.E.2d 794, 258 S.C. 198, 1972 S.C. LEXIS 324
CourtSupreme Court of South Carolina
DecidedMarch 27, 1972
Docket19394
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 187 S.E.2d 794 (New South Life Insurance v. Lindsay) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of South Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
New South Life Insurance v. Lindsay, 187 S.E.2d 794, 258 S.C. 198, 1972 S.C. LEXIS 324 (S.C. 1972).

Opinion

Per Curiam:

This is an application by Dorothy Coaxum to the Court in its original jurisdiction for a Writ of Prohibition directed to the Richland County Court, restraining and prohibiting the said Court from further proceedings in the above entitled action on the ground that the Richland County Court lacks jurisdiction of the subject matter therein.

This Court has the power, pursuant to Article V, Section 4, of the 1895 Constitution of this State, to issue a writ of prohibition. This authority is also stated in Section 15-121 of the Code.

The grounds and occasions for the granting of a writ of prohibition were recently stated in the case of Berry v. Lindsay, 256 S. C. 282, 182 S. E. (2d) 78, by quoting from Ex parte Jones, 160 S. C. 63, 158 S. E. 134, the following:

“ ‘The ancient prerogative writ of prohibition has been recognized and employed in the common-law system of jurisprudence for more than seven centuries, and like all prerogative writs should be used with forebearance and caution, and only in cases of necessity.

* * *

“ ‘With regard to the function and scope of the writ, it has been settled in this state from an early period that it will [200]*200only lie to prevent an encroachment, excess, usurpation, or improper assumption of jurisdiction on the part of an inferior court or tribunal, or to prevent some great outrage upon the settled principles of law and procedure; but, if the inferior court or tribunal has jurisdiction of the person and subject-matter of the controversy, the writ will not lie to correct errors and irregularities in procedure, or to prevent an erroneous decision or an enforcement of an erroneous judgment, or even in cases of encroachment, usurpation, and abuse of judicial power or the improper assumption of jurisdiction, where an adequate and applicable remedy by appeal, writ of error, certiorari, or other prescribed methods of review are available.’ ”

The New South Life Insurance Company is a South Carolina corporation engaged in business as an insurer and writing insurance contracts on an ordinary life plan, including endowment provisions therein, monthly debit ordinary plan with an endowment provision therein and hospital and surgical benefit policies.

The New South Life Insurance Company, the petitioner herein, commenced an action in the Richland County Court against John W. Lindsay, Chief Insurance Commissioner of the State of South Carolina, for injunctive relief and requesting that a plan of rehabilitation be ordered by the county court pursuant to the authority contained in Section 37-297, et seq. of the Code, such implementation being necessary as a result of the discovery that “a substantial deficit of approximately $8,000,000.00 existed in the Company’s reserves.” The plan of rehabilitation would permit the insurance company to continue its normal mode of operation but would impose liens on the cash surrender and loan values of certain policies and the maturity value of endowment policies, áll in the amount of 50%, such being applicable to all policies existing as of December 31, 1971. It is unnecessary to state the other details and provisions of the proposed rehabilitation plan.

[201]*201In the petition of the insurance company it is alleged that:

“Your Petitioner earnestly believes that your Petitioner has a going concern value of several millions of dollars which will be lost to its policyholders and stockholders unless the above-described plan of rehabilitation, with such appropriate modifications as this Court may direct, is adopted and that the failure to permit the rehabilitation of Petitioner will result in the loss of several millions of dollars otherwise available to its policyholders and stockholders.”

Dorothy Coaxum, the applicant here for the writ of prohibition, is an endowment policyholder with the insurance company and upon proper motion was permitted to intervene in the action pending in the lower court. After becoming a party, she moved to dismiss the action on the ground that the Richland County Court lacked jurisdiction of the subject matter. This motion was taken under advisement by the presiding judge and the hearing of the cause was continued. Notice of the application to this Court for a writ of prohibition was served on all parties on March 13, 1972, and oral arguments upon the motion were heard by this Court on March 16, 1972.

The New South Life Insurance Company made a return to the application for the writ of prohibition alleging (1) that the Richland County Court has jurisdiction of the subject matter of this action under the provisions of Section 15-764.2 of the Code, in that the insurance company seeks a review of an order issued by the insurance commissioner pursuant to Section 37-70 of the Code; (2) that the Rich-land County Court has jurisdiction of the subject matter of this action under the provisions of Section 15-764 of the Code, on the grounds that the cause is a civil case or special proceeding in which there is no money demand and that the cause is one in which the right involved cannot be monetarily measured; (3) and that the Richland County Court has jurisdiction of the subject matter pursuant to Sections 37-297 et sea., which is a general law and statutory provi[202]*202sion applicable generally to the circuit courts of this State within the purview of Section 15-766 of the Code, and by reason thereof has jurisdiction to approve, disapprove, or modify a plan of rehabilitation for an insurance company.

Under Section 15-764.2 of the Code, it is provided that “the county court shall have the same appellate jurisdiction for all criminal and civil matters as the court of common pleas and the court of general sessions.” The insurance company contends that the quoted section gives the Rich-land County Court jurisdiction to review an order issued by the insurance commissioner pursuant to Section 37-70 of the Code. It is provided in Section 37-70 of the Code, that any order or decision made, issued or executed by the insurance commissioner shall be subject to review in the circuit courts of this State on petition by any person aggrieved thereby. Section 37-72 of the Code, provides that the insurance commissioner shall within thirty days after the service of the copy of the petition for review upon him, prepare and file with the clerk of the court a complete transcript of the hearing, if any, and a true copy of the order or decision duly certified. It is further provided that the cause shall be heard by the court as a civil case upon such transcript of the record. Section 37-73 of the Code, gives the court jurisdiction to review the facts and the law and to affirm, modify or set aside the order or decision of the insurance commissioner and to restrain the enforcement thereof.

It appears from the allegations of the petition filed by The New South Life Insurance Company that in 1970, at a time when it was considering expansion of its operations into other states, it employed a firm of actuarial and management consultants to conduct an independent review of its affairs. In the course of their examination, this firm concluded that the reserves which had been established by the company with respect to its policies were below those presently required and that a substantial deficit of approximately $8,000,000 existed in the reserves. It was further alleged that these consultants concluded that the deficit in the com[203]*203pany’s reserves was attributable to data processing errors.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
187 S.E.2d 794, 258 S.C. 198, 1972 S.C. LEXIS 324, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/new-south-life-insurance-v-lindsay-sc-1972.