Lawsuit accuses state insurance commissioner of overstepping authority to help campaign donors
Two Northern California employers that were ordered by the state Department of Insurance to pay workers’ compensation premiums they never agreed to are suing Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara (D), saying he exceeded his legal authority.
The attorney representing the companies, Oceanside Laundry and RDR Builders, also claimed in the suit that Lara’s actions were unlawful because Lara issued his decisions after a statutory deadline.
“Petitioners seek a determination that the commissioner exceeded his authority when he issued orders of stay in each of these matters beyond the regulatory time limit allowing him to do so, then issuing amended orders that were beyond his jurisdiction to make as well as contrary to the admitted evidence,” lawyer Larry Lichtenegger wrote in the complaint.
The suit alleges that the insurance commissioner is charged with approving rates proposed by California insurers and has no legal authority to adjudicate breach-of-contract claims.
Read more: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/watchdog/story/2019-08-08/state-insurance-commissioner-accused-of-overstepping-his-authority-to-benefit-donors