Schinnerer v. Maryland Insurance Administration

809 A.2d 709, 147 Md. App. 474, 2002 Md. App. LEXIS 178
CourtCourt of Special Appeals of Maryland
DecidedOctober 31, 2002
DocketNo. 1123
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 809 A.2d 709 (Schinnerer v. Maryland Insurance Administration) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Special Appeals of Maryland primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Schinnerer v. Maryland Insurance Administration, 809 A.2d 709, 147 Md. App. 474, 2002 Md. App. LEXIS 178 (Md. Ct. App. 2002).

Opinion

RAYMOND G. THIEME, JR., Judge,

Retired, Specially Assigned.

William R. Schinnerer and W.R. Schinnerer Companies,, appellants, seek to set aside a two-year suspension, by the Maryland Insurance Commissioner, of their certificates of qualification to act as an insurance agent.

The Maryland Insurance Administration (“the MIA”), appel-lee, determined that appellants had violated the Insurance Article in connection with (i) an application to renew a certificate of qualification and (ii) certain transactions with the Hartford Insurance Group Companies (“Hartford”). The MIA recommended that appellants’ certificates of qualifications be revoked. The Insurance Commissioner (“the Commissioner”) affirmed the violation findings but rejected the recommended sanction and reduced it to a two-year suspension. The Circuit Court for Montgomery County affirmed the Commissioner’s order, and appellants filed this appeal.

ISSUES

Appellants argue, in essence, that:

I. The Commissioner erroneously based his violation findings on a determination that appellants had a fiduciary duty toward Hartford, in that the determination was neither legally correct nor supported by substantial evidence,
II. The Commissioner’s determination that appellants misappropriated, converted, or unlawfully withheld funds belonging to Hartford was neither legally correct nor supported by substantial evidence,
III. The Commissioner’s determination that appellants failed or refused to pay over premium funds on demand was [479]*479neither legally correct nor supported by substantial evidence,
IV. The Commissioner’s determination that appellants misrepresented or concealed a material fact on their 1997 renewal application was not supported by substantial evidence and was arbitrary and capricious, and
V. The Commissioner’s determination that appellants engaged in dishonest practices or otherwise showed a lack of trustworthiness or competence to act as insurance agents was not supported by substantial evidence.

We find no merit in any of these arguments and affirm the judgment of the trial court.

PACTS

William R. Schinnerer became an insurance agent in 1965. In the early 1970’s, he started his own business, which eventually evolved into W.R. Schinnerer Companies. No consumer complaints have ever been lodged against Mr. Schinnerer or his business.

Hartford was one of many insurance companies for which W.R. Schinnerer Companies sold insurance. W.R. Schinnerer Companies and Hartford were parties to an “Agency Agreement” — Mr. Schinnerer signed the agreement as “Agency Principal.” In accordance with the agreement, appellants were authorized, as agents for Hartford,

(1) To solicit insurance for the classes of business which the Company writes in the Agent’s territory and to bind, issue and deliver policies therefor which the Company may from time to time authorize to be issued and delivered.
(3) To collect, receive and receipt for premiums on such policies ....

The Agency Agreement provided:

The Agent will submit to the Company by the tenth of each month an account of all premiums on all business [480]*480except direct billed business, placed during the previous month or not previously reported....
... [T]he balances due the Company ... shall be paid within the number of days specified in ... the declarations after the end of the month for which the account was submitted.

The declarations, in turn, specified that the “Number of Days for Payment of Balances” was 45. This system of payment was known as the “Account Current System.” By way of example, the system required appellants to report to Hartford by February 10 all policies sold in January. Appellants then had until March 15 to collect the premiums for those policies and remit them to Hartford.

Since 1979, Hartford has permitted appellants to commingle premiums they collected for Hartford, before they become due, with other funds. Permission was granted by way of a letter, which stated:

Consent is hereby given to commingle funds in your hands which are payable to us with other monies which you own or hold .... If such funds are deposited in an appropriate interest bearing account, you are authorized to withdraw such interest for your own use.
As part of this consent, however, we shall require that all funds payable to us will at all times be ascertainable from an examination of your books and records.
This consent in no way alters the terms of our agency contract or your obligations under that contract to pay all monies due ...

In early February of 1996, William R. Schinnerer notified Hartford that W.R. Schinnerer Companies would be unable to pay by February 15 what it owed for the policies sold for Hartford in December of 1995. Mr. Schinnerer indicated that $188,000 in premiums had been collected, but that the agency [481]*481no longer had the money. A similar problem arose in March of 1996. Mr. Schinnerer informed Hartford that the agency would not be able to timely remit $287,000 in premiums that it had collected for policies sold in January. We glean from the record no explanation as to where the money went.

Hartford agreed to transfer the debt out of the Account Current System and into the Special Collections Department, and a new payment schedule was negotiated for the amounts due. Appellants executed two promissory notes for the amounts due and made timely payments until January of 2000, when the notes were paid in full.

Despite the new agreement, counsel for Hartford reported the matters to the Maryland Insurance Administration. By letter dated March 19,1996, counsel stated:

On behalf of ITT Hartford, I .am submitting the following report, in accordance with Section 233B of the Maryland Insurance Code.1
Please be advised that W.R. Schinnerer Companies, Inc. (the “Agency”), has failed to pay its accounts current due to ITT Hartford on February 15, 1996 and March 15, 1996. The Agency has advised ITT Hartford that it has collected premium money sufficient to pay these balances but that it is without the necessary funds to pay its accounts current on a timely basis. ITT Hartford and the Agency have negotiated repayment terms for the balances, which aggregate $475,000.

By letter dated April 10,1996, counsel for the MIA responded:

This Division has received your referral concerning the above named agency. However, since an agreement was reached between Schinnerer and ITT Hartford covering the aggregate amount of unremitted premiums, this is now a [482]*482matter involving the “extension of credit” which takes it out of the criminal sphere. As such, we will enter this information on our databases for information purposes only.

In June of 1996, appellants submitted to the MIA an application for renewal of the certificate of qualification held by W.R. Schinnerer Companies. Mr.

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Bluebook (online)
809 A.2d 709, 147 Md. App. 474, 2002 Md. App. LEXIS 178, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/schinnerer-v-maryland-insurance-administration-mdctspecapp-2002.