Judge: Cherol J. Nellon, Case: 23STCP03414, Date: 2023-11-29 Tentative Ruling
Case Number: 23STCP03414 Hearing Date: November 29, 2023 Dept: 14
Saucedo v. Blue Hill Specialty Insurance Company
Petition to Compel Arbitration and for Selection of an Arbitrator
This matter comes to this court via a special procedure set forth in the Insurance Code. When a person is in an automobile accident with an “Underinsured Motorist” (or “UIM”), and they have a dispute with their own insurer, the dispute goes to arbitration. Insurance Code § 11580.2(f).
Therefore, on September 15, 2023, Petitioner Eddie Saucedo (“Petitioner”) filed a petition in this court seeking to compel Respondent Blue Hill Specialty Insurance Company (“Respondent” or “Blue Hill”) to select an arbitrator and attend arbitration.
The petition is DENIED. The matter is DISMISSED, without prejudice. This order disposes of the case.
Petitioner was injured in an automobile accident while working, on December 27, 2021. He says he settled his claim against the UIM for $15,000 (the limit of their insurance), and is now seeking to be paid the balance of his damages from his employer’s insurance company, Respondent Blue Hill. Petitioner claims that Respondent Blue Hill refuses to engage in arbitration, respond to discovery, or select an arbitrator.
Insurance Code § 11580.2 provides in relevant part as follows:
“(a)(1) No policy of bodily injury liability insurance covering liability arising out of the ownership, maintenance, or use of any motor vehicle…shall be issued or delivered in this state to the owner or operator of a motor vehicle, or shall be issued or delivered by any insurer licensed in this state upon any motor vehicle then principally used or principally garaged in this state, unless the policy contains, or has added to it by endorsement, a provision with coverage limits at least equal to the limits specified in subdivision (m) and in no case less than the financial responsibility requirements specified in Section 16056 of the Vehicle Code insuring the insured, the insured's heirs or legal representative for all sums within the limits that he, she, or they, as the case may be, shall be legally entitled to recover as damages for bodily injury or wrongful death from the owner or operator of an uninsured motor vehicle…
…
(f) The policy or an endorsement added thereto shall provide that the determination as to whether the insured shall be legally entitled to recover damages, and if so entitled, the amount thereof, shall be made by agreement between the insured and the insurer or, in the event of disagreement, by arbitration. The arbitration shall be conducted by a single neutral arbitrator…If the insured has or may have rights to benefits, other than nonoccupational disability benefits, under any workers' compensation law, the arbitrator shall not proceed with the arbitration until the insured's physical condition is stationary and ratable. In those cases in which the insured claims a permanent disability, the claims shall, unless good cause be shown, be adjudicated by award or settled by compromise and release before the arbitration may proceed. Any demand or petition for arbitration shall contain a declaration, under penalty of perjury, stating whether (i) the insured has a workers' compensation claim; (ii) the claim has proceeded to findings and award or settlement on all issues reasonably contemplated to be determined in that claim; and (iii) if not, what reasons amounting to good cause are grounds for the arbitration to proceed immediately…”
Petitioner has not submitted the required declaration showing whether he has a workers’ compensation claim and what the status of that claim is. Nor does the petition address or explain the defect. The Opposition indicates that Petitioner is currently being paid benefits by a workers’ compensation insurer.
Because Petitioner has failed to meet the requirements of Section 11580.2(f), the petition is DENIED. The matter is DISMISSED, without prejudice. This order disposes of the case.