State Board of Insurance v. Professional & Business Men's Insurance Co.

359 S.W.2d 312, 1962 Tex. App. LEXIS 2654
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJuly 11, 1962
Docket11005
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 359 S.W.2d 312 (State Board of Insurance v. Professional & Business Men's Insurance Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State Board of Insurance v. Professional & Business Men's Insurance Co., 359 S.W.2d 312, 1962 Tex. App. LEXIS 2654 (Tex. Ct. App. 1962).

Opinions

RICHARDS, Justice.

This is an appeal from an order of the 53rd Judicial District Court of Travis [314]*314County granting a temporary injunction enjoining and restraining the State Board of Insurance, composed of Ned Price, Dur-wood Manford and Joseph Trosper, appellants, from issuing any license or certificate of authority to Professional Investors Insurance Company (or Allied Investors Insurance Company) to transact insurance business in Texas. Professional Investors Insurance Company (or Allied Investors Insurance Company) having intervened as a party defendant is also an appellant herein. For brevity the State Board of Insurance will be hereafter referred to as the “Board”, Professional Investors Insurance Company (or Allied Investors Insurance Company) will be referred to as “interven- or” and Professional and Business Men’s Insurance Company will be referred to as “appellee”.

Suit was filed by appellee under the provisions of Article 1.04, Texas Insurance Code, Vernon’s ’Civil Statutes, as an appeal from an order of the Board approving the issuance of a charter to intervenor, which had previously been approved by the Commissioner of Insurance. At the time the suit was filed the Trial Court issued a temporary restraining order enjoining the Board from issuing a certificate of authority to intervenor. At the hearing on the temporary injunction, both the Board and intervenor having filed pleas to the jurisdiction of the Court to enjoin the validity of the Board’s order, the Trial Court overruled the pleas and granted the temporary injunction. The Board and intervenor have duly perfected their appeals from the order granting the temporary injunction.

A summary of the factual situation which existed at the time of the temporary injunction hearing reveals that on January 17, 1962, an application for a charter in the name of Professional Investors Insurance Company was filed by intervenor with the State Board of Insurance pursuant to Art. 3.04, T.I.C. On January 29, 1962 a public hearing upon the application was held by the Commissioner of Insurance, hereinafter referred to as Commissioner, at which time appellee, Professional and Business Men’s Insurance Company, intervened and objected to the issuance of a charter to intervenor on various grounds, one of which was that the name Professional Investors Insurance Company was so similar to the name of ap-pellee as to likely mislead the public contrary to Sec. 1, Art. 3.02, T.I.C.

After the hearing the Commissioner entered an order on February 6, 1962 approving the application, directing that the articles of incorporation be submitted to the Attorney General of Texas for his approval and upon approval of the application and upon compliance by the company with Arts. 3.04 and 3.06, T.I.’C., an examination of the company would be conducted but that the certificate of authority to transact business would be issued only after further order by the Commissioner after an examination of the company according to the provisions of Art. 3.06, T.I.C. from which order ap-pellee gave notice of appeal to the Board. On February 7, 1962 the Board entered an order staying the Commissioner’s order pending hearing before and order by the State Board of Insurance upon such appeal.

On February 19, 1962 the Board held a hearing on the appeal at which time additional evidence was presented by appellee in support of its grounds for appeal and on March 14, 1962 the Board entered its order approving the original incorporation of in-tervenor under the name of Professional Investors Insurance Company and approving the order of the Commissioner.

Appellants’ first point of error is that the Trial Court was without jurisdiction to issue a temporary injunction enjoining the Board from issuing a certificate of authority to intervenor under the provisions of Art. 3.06, Texas Insurance Code. Appellants contend that since Art. 1.04(f), T.I.C., does not specifically authorize the Trial Court to grant injunctive relief pending trial upon the merits, it was without authority to grant the temporary injunction, citing Board of Insurance Commissioners v. Adams, Tex.Civ.App., 286 S.[315]*315W.2d 708, error ref., N.R.E.; Cosmo Life Ins. Co. v. State Board of Insurance, Tex.Civ.App., 319 S.W.2d 162, (no writ history) and White v. Bolner, Tex.Civ.App., 223 S.W.2d 686, error ref. Appellants also rely upon the language in State Board of Ins. v. Adams, supra, that in enacting Art. 1.04(f) as an amendment to the Texas Insurance Code the Legislature intended to establish a uniform method of appeal thereby repealing all prior provisions in the Code relating to appeals from orders of the Board. We are unable to agree with either of appellants’ contentions.

Under the authority of Sec. 8, Art. V, Constitution of Texas, Vernon’s Ann.St., which provides that the District Court shall have power to issue writs of injunction, the Legislature enacted Art. 4642, Vernon’s Ann.Civ.St., empowering judges of the District Courts to grant writs of injunction where the applicant shows himself entitled to the writ under the principles of equity and the statutes of this State. Under such constitutional and statutory authority a district judge may grant temporary injunctive relief to preserve the status quo of the subject matter of the litigation until trial upon the merits where there is jurisdiction over the parties and the subject matter. City of Dallas v. Wright, 120 Tex. 190, 36 S.W.2d 973, 77 A.L.R. 709; Rogers v. Daniel Oil & Royalty Co., Tex.Civ.App., 105 S.W.2d 476; aff. 130 Tex. 386, 110 S.W.2d 891. It is also a rule of law that District Courts may restrain the enforcement of administrative orders of State Boards and agencies for the purpose of preserving the status quo pending the trial on the merits of a suit to set aside such order. Railroad Commission v. Shell Oil Co., 146 Tex. 286, 206 S.W.2d 235, 242; Transport Co. of Texas v. Robertson Transports, 152 Tex. 551, 261 S.W.2d 549, 552.

In a hearing on an application for temporary injunction the question before the Trial Court is the right of the applicant to a preservation of the status quo of the subject matter of the suit pending a final trial on the merits. To warrant the issuance of the writ the applicant need only show a probable right thereto and that probable injury would result from a denial of the relief, but it is not necessary to establish that the applicant will finally prevail in the litigation. Where the pleadings and the evidence present a case of probable right and probable injury, the Trial Court is given broad discretion in determining whether the writ shall issue and its order will be reversed only upon a showing of a clear abuse of discretion. Transport Co. of Texas v. Robertson Transports, supra; Railroad Commission of Texas v. San Antonio Compress Co., Tex.Civ.App., 264 S.W. 214, 216; error ref., 114 Tex. 582, 278 S.W. 1115.

Appellants argue that the general statement of the rules governing the granting of temporary injunctions in the Robertson case is inapplicable here, since the statute construed by the Supreme Court in that case authorized injunctive relief, and since Art.

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State Board of Insurance v. Professional & Business Men's Insurance Co.
359 S.W.2d 312 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1962)

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Bluebook (online)
359 S.W.2d 312, 1962 Tex. App. LEXIS 2654, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-board-of-insurance-v-professional-business-mens-insurance-co-texapp-1962.