E. J. Carroll Co. v. Insurance Commissioner

PRESTON, J. This appeal, submitted on a clerk’s transcript and appellants’ opening brief, presents moot questions and hence will be dismissed.

Plaintiff, having been denied an insurance broker’s renewal license for the period from July 1, 1932, to July 1, 1933, commenced this action against the State Insurance Commissioner and his deputy, to obtain relief under section 633a22 of the Political Code. The prayer of the complaint was for judgment ordering issuance of said license to plaintiff for said period; also for an order to show cause and, upon hearing thereof, for an interlocutory order providing for issuance to plaintiff of a license pendente lite, until final determination of the issues involved, and for general relief.

The court granted the order to show cause. On the return day defendants appeared and filed a general demurrer to the complaint, which was subsequently overruled; also an affidavit reciting in detail the reasons for refusal of the renewal license, to wit: that plaintiff was not properly qualified to act as an insurance broker; that it had violated the so-called anti-rebate law (sec. 633b, Pol. Code) and had attempted to place business with a company not authorized to do business iii this state, in violation of section 596 of the Political Code. No counteraffidavit was filed and no testimony taken. On November 23, 1932, the court made two orders. One was entitled “mandatory injunction” and it commanded defendants to forthwith issue to plaintiff a. license as insurance broker, to remain in full force and effect until final determination of the action. The other order, entitled “injunction”, restrained defendants, until final determination of the action, from in any way interfering with the conduct by plaintiff of its insurance brokerage business.

This appeal was taken by defendants from both of said orders. They contended that the complaint did not contain the requisites of a petition for review under said section 633a22 and that said orders were void because not predicated on the necessary showing. Furthermore, they refused to issue to plaintiff a license pendente lite, in compliance with the mandatory injunction, on the ground that the immediate filing of their appeal stayed its effect, if not the effect of both said injunctions (citing Ohaver v. Fenech, 206 Cal. 118 [273 Pac. 555], and cases therein noted).

[62]Subsequently appellants were adjudged guilty of violation of said injunctions in a contempt proceeding wherein were raised many of the issues here involved. Upon review, however, the judgment of contempt was vacated upon the sole ground that there was no evidence in the record to support the finding that defendants had interfered with the conduct by plaintiff of its brokerage business in violation of said injunctions (Mitchell v. Superior Court, 132 Cal. App. 468 [23 Pac. (2d) 423]).