State ex rel. Hart v. Commercial Insurance

64 N.E. 466, 158 Ind. 680, 1902 Ind. LEXIS 198
CourtIndiana Supreme Court
DecidedJune 4, 1902
DocketNo. 19,762
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 64 N.E. 466 (State ex rel. Hart v. Commercial Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State ex rel. Hart v. Commercial Insurance, 64 N.E. 466, 158 Ind. 680, 1902 Ind. LEXIS 198 (Ind. 1902).

Opinion

Jordan, J.

The relator, as Auditor of State, instituted this action to obtain a writ of mandate against appellee to compel it to file in his office annual reports, and further to permit him, as such auditor, to have access to all of its books and papers, for the purpose of examining every detail of its business in the interest of its policy holders. The petition for the writ discloses that appellee, “The Commercial Insurance Company of New Albany, Indiana,” was- originally incorporated under a special act of the legislature, entitled, “An act to incorporate the New Albany Insurance Company”, approved February 2, 1832, Acts 1832, p. 160; that the name of this company was subsequently changed, by a proceeding in court, to “The Commercial-Insurance Company of New Albany, Indiana;” that said company is engaged in doing a fire insurance business in this State, and since March 2, 1899, has wholly failed and refused to file annual reports in the office of the Auditor of State, and has failed and refused to permit the relator, as such auditor, to examine its books, papers, etc., all in violation of the provisions of an act of the legislature approved March 2, 1899. An alternative writ was issued reciting the facts alleged in the petition, and thereby appellee was commanded to file in the office of the relator, “the duly verified statement required by law,” and to grant relator access to all its books and papers “for the purpose of an examination into every detail of the company’s business,” etc. Appellee successfully demurred to the alternative writ, and* the court rendered its final judgment denying a peremptory writ of mandate. These rulings of the court are assigned as errors. The relator bases his demand for the right which he claims in this action upon an act of the legislature approved March 2, 1899 (Acts 1899, p. 220), entitled, “An act to require insurance companies organized by special act of the General Assembly of the State of Indiana to file annual reports with the Auditor of State, and declaring an emergency.” The first section of this act is as follows: “Be it enacted by the General Assem[682]*682bly of the State of Indiana, that every company created by special act of the General Assembly of the State of Indiana, for the purpose of transacting the business of insurance, shall on or before the third Monday of January of each year, furnish the said auditor with a statement, verified by the oaths of the president and secretary of said company, and signed by a majority of the directors of such company- which statement shall show(Here follow the several specifications of what the required statement shall exhibit.) Section 2 provides the amount which the Auditor of State shall charge and collect for the State of Indiana, for an examination of the charter, and for the examination of the statement and investigation of evidence of the investment of the assets of such company, in accordance with the provisions of the respective charters, and further provides that the provisions of the act shall not apply to “Farmers Mutual Eire Insurance Associations organized under special act since the year 1852 and doing business strictly under the assessment plan.” Section 3 reads as follows: “The Auditor of State shall examine, or cause to be examined, by some competent and disinterested person every detail of the business of any special charter 'company transacting business of insurance in this State whenever, in his judgment, such examination is required for the interest of the policy holders of such company ; and, for the purpose of such examination, has power, either in person or by one or more competent and disinterested examiners by him commissioned in writing.” Section 4 declares an emergency for the taking effect of the act.

The principal proposition involved in this appeal relates to the question as to whether §3 is properly embraced in the act under its title. The Attorney-General, in behalf of appellant, affirms that the title of the act in question is sufficient to authorize the provisions enacted by §3, under the requirements of article 4, §19 of the State’s Constitution, which provides: “Every act shall embrace but one subject and matters properly connected therewith, which subject [683]*683shall be expressed in the title. But if any subject shall be embraced in an act which shall not be expressed in the title, such act shall be void only as to so much thereof as shall not be expressed in the title.”

This contention, counsel for appellee deny, and with much force contend that the relator is not authorized under the act to subject the books and papers of appellee and every detail of its business to an examination by him in the interest of its policy holders, and in support of this contention it is claimed that §3, under which the relator asserts his right to make an examination, is not properly a part of the statute, for the reason that it has been incorporated therein in violation of the provisions of the above section of the Constitution. Counsel for appellant further contend that the relator is justified in his demand for an examination of the books and papers and business of appellee under an act of the legislature of 1865, which relates to foreign insurance companies, by virtue of the amendments of the original act as made in 1877.

It is evident that the matter embraced in §3 is not the subject of the act as expressed and disclosed by its title. A reading of the title fully reveals that the subject of the legislation is to require “insurance companies organized by special act to file annual reports with the Auditor of State.” The question then arises, is the matter embraced in §3 properly connected with the subject expressed within the meaning of the above section of the Constitution ? If the act had been entitled as one either relating to or concerning insurance companies organized.by special act, etc., quite a different question would be presented, for such a title would in a sense be general and comprehensive in its character, and the legislation thereunder would not be specially limited or confined to the subject of requiring the designated companies to file annual reports with the Auditor of State. When the subject of tire act in question, as disclosed by the title, is considered, there certainly is no obvious connection between such sub[684]*684ject and the matter or provisions embraced in §3, which attempts to confer the power or right upon the Auditor of State to examine the books and papers of insurance companies mentioned whenever, in his judgment, such examination is required for the interests of the policy holders. Counsel for appellant, however, say: “The only purpose of requiring reports to be made to the Auditor of State was that they might be examined. A report would.be of no service which could not be investigated; nor would a report afford any protection to the public unless, with the right to examine it, there was coupled the right to verify its statements by access to the books and papers of the company making the report.” But it is not the right to examine the books and papers and all details of appellee’s business, in order to verify its annual report after the same has been placed on file in the auditor’s office, that the relator demands. In fact, it is shown that no report has been filed by appellee company, and the relator under his petition does not profess to limit or confine his demand to an examination of the company for the purpose of verifying its annual report, but the right exacted, under the facts alleged in the petition, is that of being permitted to

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Bluebook (online)
64 N.E. 466, 158 Ind. 680, 1902 Ind. LEXIS 198, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-ex-rel-hart-v-commercial-insurance-ind-1902.