Applied Underwriters Asks U.S. Supreme Court to Review ‘Prior Exclusive Jurisdiction’ Ruling

SAN FRANCISCO — Applied Underwriters Inc. (AUI) has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to revive its lawsuit accusing California insurance regulators of unlawfully planning to shut down its former affiliate, California Insurance Co. (CIC), as part of a “vendetta” involving AUI’s “EquityComp” workers’ compensation program.

In a Nov. 30 petition for certiorari, AUI and its affiliates argue that the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ “gravamen” test for deciding the applicability of the prior exclusive jurisdiction doctrine conflicts with Supreme Court precedent “and would replace easily applied jurisdictional rules with confusion and uncertainty.”

AUI and its affiliate, Applied Risk …