Dwelling House Ins. Co. v. Wilder
| Decision Date | 05 January 1889 |
| Citation | 20 P. 265,40 Kan. 561 |
| Parties | THE DWELLING-HOUSE INSURANCE COMPANY v. D. W. WILDER, as Superintendent of Insurance.--THE WESTERN HOME INSURANCE COMPANY v. SAME |
| Court | Kansas Supreme Court |
Original Proceedings in Mandamus.
ON April 6, 1888, two actions were commenced in this court against the superintendent of insurance, one by The Dwelling-House Insurance Company, and the other by The Western Home Insurance Company, to compel the superintendent to issue certificates of authority to the companies to do a general insurance business in the state of Kansas for the year commencing March 1, 1888. Alternative writs of mandamus were allowed and issued in each of the cases. In the case of the Dwelling-House Insurance Company, the alternative writ alleges, in substance, as follows: That said insurance company is a corporation organized under the laws of Massachusetts, having its principal office in the city of Boston; that it has been in existence for many years conducting its authorized business in the state of Massachusetts, and elsewhere in the United States, by means of its various agencies, to the satisfaction of its policyholders, and the public generally; that during the year 1884 it became desirous of extending its business into the state of Kansas, and applied, by its proper officers, to the then superintendent of insurance of Kansas for permission and license to transact its business within the boundaries of said state; that upon a compliance on its part with all the requirements of law for the regulation of insurance companies not organized under the laws of the state of Kansas, the then superintendent of insurance of Kansas granted permission and license to said Dwelling-House Insurance Company to transact the business of insurance within this state; that upon said license being granted to said relator, it established a large number of agencies throughout the state, and expended large sums of money in the creation of said agencies, in advertising for business, and soliciting for insurance risks that thereby said insurance company acquired a large and profitable business within this state, and has conducted the same to the satisfaction of its policyholders, and of the public generally; that license and permission granted said relator to transact business within this state has been renewed and extended from year to year by the superintendent of insurance, upon compliance by said relator on its part with all the rules and regulations governing it, up to and until the 1st of March, 1888, at which time the superintendent of insurance refused to grant further license or permission to said relator to transact any business of insurance within the state of Kansas; that said Dwelling-House Insurance Company by and through its proper officers demanded of said superintendent the renewal of its license, and the granting of permission to it to transact its lawful business within this state, and then and there offered to comply with all the acts of the legislature, and the legal regulations of the insurance department applicable to said relator in the future, as it has done in the past, said insurance company having in all respects fully complied with every act and requirement, both of the legislature governing insurance companies not organized within this state, and also all legal rules and regulations prescribed by the insurance department; that said Dwelling-House Insurance Company is perfectly solvent in every respect, having in excess of all liabilities as computed by the standard established by the statutes of Kansas, a large surplus; that each and every policyholder within this state is well and fully protected that there exists no reason, either legal or other, why the superintendent of insurance should not issue to said insurance company a certificate of authority to enable it to continue to transact its business in this state, except the mere whim and caprice of said superintendent; that said relator has earnestly requested said superintendent to cause a thorough examination of the affairs of said relator, but said superintendent has refused to do so, and such examination has never been made by him; but said superintendent stated to relator that if he did anything he would request the superintendent of insurance of the state of Massachusetts to cause such examination to be made, and thereupon said relator communicated to respondent the following telegraphic dispatch from the insurance commissioner of the state of Massachusetts:
And said relator further represents that said insurance company is now and always has been in a sound and solvent condition, having a reserve fund largely in excess of the reserve fund provided for by the laws of Kansas; and that the refusal to grant to said relator a certificate of authority to transact business within this state will cause an irreparable injury to said relator, the Dwelling-House Insurance Company, is a violation of the rights of said relator, and that it has no adequate remedy in the ordinary courts of law.
The alternative writ issued in the case of the Western Home Insurance Company states in substance that the Western Home Insurance Company is a corporation duly organized under the laws of the state of Iowa for the purpose of carrying on a general insurance business; that in the year 1885 said plaintiff, having complied with the requirements of the laws of Kansas in such cases made and provided, was regularly admitted by the then superintendent of insurance of this state to carry on the business of insurance in said state, as provided in its charter; that the plaintiff has at all times conformed with all the requirements of the laws of Kansas and knows no reason why it should not be permitted to continue doing business in this state under its charter and the laws of Kansas; that on or about the first of March, 1888, D. W. Wilder, defendant herein, superintendent of insurance for Kansas, and acting in that capacity, refused to issue a certificate of authority to plaintiff; that plaintiff prepared, for the purpose of having the same filed in the insurance department, a full, complete and sufficient statement of the affairs of said plaintiff, as required by law, fully complying in every respect with the requirements of the statute in such cases provided, and which said statement is now on file in the office of defendant; that upon the refusal of defendant to issue said certificate or license, notwithstanding the compliance by plaintiff with all requirements of law as aforesaid, plaintiff requested defendant to appoint some competent person to investigate the conditions and affairs of plaintiff, and report the same to defendant, and offering to extend to said person every facility for carrying on such investigation, and to pay the expenses thereof, but defendant refused to make such appointment, or to instigate any such examination; that said Western Home Insurance Company has through its officers repeatedly requested defendant to state his reasons for refusing to issue said license, and offering to comply with any lawful and reasonable request that may be made of it, but defendant has refused and neglected and still refuses and neglects either to state his reasons for his refusal aforesaid, or to state upon what conditions he is willing to issue the same; that plaintiff has gone to great pains and expense to establish its business in Kansas; that it has established and organized a large number of agencies throughout the state, and is carrying a large amount of Kansas business; that it is carrying on its business extensively in a large number of other states, and has a great volume of business in Kansas and elsewhere; that if said defendant shall be permitted to carry out his determination to refuse to issue a license as aforesaid, plaintiff will suffer great and irreparable loss and damage to its business in this state as well as in other states where its business is being carried on; that the damage so resulting to plaintiff will be nigh ruinous, inasmuch as confidence will be shaken and distrust engendered wherever the said company is known and...
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