Jones

A series of individuals (hereafter plaintiffs) sued Calsol, Inc. (Calsol), an insured of defendant Golden Eagle Insurance Corporation (Golden Eagle), in separate but similar personal injury lawsuits. Although Calsol was in bankruptcy, the bankruptcy court granted the plaintiffs limited relief from the automatic stay, allowing them to pursue claims against Calsol on the condition any judgment could be enforced only against Calsol’s insurers, not against Calsol itself.

Golden Eagle was itself in conservatorship. As part of its plan of rehabilitation, Golden Eagle had adopted a procedure for administering claims made under the insurance policies it had issued, and it notified the plaintiffs it *143 would require them to pursue their covered claims against Golden Eagle in the conservatorship proceeding. When the plaintiffs failed to submit timely claims, the Insurance Commissioner declared their claims “denied” and refused demands by Calsol’s other insurers to contribute toward the defense of the plaintiffs’ lawsuits. 1 The insurers filed an unsuccessful application for an order to show cause (OSC) in the superior court challenging the commissioner’s refusal to share costs…