Scif
Gordon's Cabinet Shop v. State Compensation Insurance Fund
Opinion
Opinion
Ward, J.
Plaintiff and appellant Gordon’s Cabinet Shop (plaintiff) appeals after the trial court dismissed its action for failure to bring it to trial within five years. (Code Civ. Proc., § 583.310.) Plaintiff contends that the five-year statute was tolled by two separate periods during the pendency of the case, and that the trial court therefore erred in concluding the five-year statute had run. We affirm.
Facts and Procedural History
Plaintiff is in the business of making and installing cabinets. As an employer, plaintiff is required to carry workers’ compensation insurance. Plaintiff purchased its workers’ compensation insurance from defendant and respondent State Compensation Insurance Fund (SCIF).
SCIF is a “public enterprise fund created for the purpose of transacting workers’ compensation insurance. (Ins. Code, §§ 11770, 11773.) It was established to ensure that affordable workers’ compensation insurance would be available to employers when coverage became mandatory. [Citation.]” (Tudor Ranches, Inc. v. State Comp. Ins. Fund (1998) 65 Cal.App.4th 1422, 1425 [ 77 Cal.Rptr.2d 574 ].) Under the statutory scheme, SCIF is intended to be competitive with other insurers, and to…