Pacific Indemnity Co. v. Industrial Accident Commission

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…