Pacific Indemnity Co. v. Industrial Accident Commission

SHENK, J. The petitioner, Pacific Indemnity Company, seeks on review an annulment of the decision and order of the Industrial Accident Commission in two cases. The first involved an award of compensation made to Sophronia A. Westmoreland and Roy Westmoreland, the dependent sur[562]viving wife and minor child of Ambrose R Westmoreland who, on February 17, 1931, suffered an injury in the course of his employment with Belmont Metals Corporation, and from which he died. The award to the dependents was made on November 18, 1932.

The insurance carrier of the employer at the time of the injury was American Mine Owners Casualty Corporation, a Pennsylvania corporation, duly licensed to issue policies of workmen’s compensation insurance in this state. The statute enacted to protect beneficiaries of workmen’s compensation insurance policies from the defaults or insolvency of insurance carriers (Stats. 1917, p. 292), requires such insurance carriers annually to deposit securities or file a bond approved by the insurance commissioner. By section 2 of the act the bond must provide that in the event the carrier becomes insolvent or fails for a period of thirty days to pay any award rendered against it by the Industrial Accident Commission, the surety will pay forthwith the award to the extent of its liability under the bond. Section 3 contemplates the filing of a new bond on or prior to the first day of July of each year. That section in part reads: “Upon the filing of said new bond, approved as herein required, and not until such filing and approval, all liability under the previous bond shall thereby terminate. Said new bond shall embrace the entire liability of said previous bond except in so far as the same may have been paid or discharged. ’ ’

At the time of the injury to Westmoreland and until June 30, 1931, the petitioiier herein was the surety on the bond filed by American Mine Owners Casualty Company. Previous to the expiration date of its bond and about May 27, 1931, the American Mine Owners Casualty Company merged with Commonwealth Casualty Company, which thereupon and on June 1, 1931, merged with Independence Indemnity Company, a Pennsylvania corporation. One month later, at the expiration date of the Pacific Indemnity Company’s bond, the Columbia Casualty Company’s bond was filed and approved by the insurance commissioner as a new bond in place of the Pacific Indemnity Company’s bond. On September 16, 1931, the Independence Indemnity Company transferred its assets'and liabilities to another corporation also having the title Independence Indemnity Com