Farmers Insurance Exchange v. Superior Court
California Supreme Court
826 P.2d 730 (1992)
- Written by Sara Rhee, JD
Facts
The California attorney general (plaintiff) sued several insurance companies (defendants) in California state court, alleging violations of California’s unfair business practices statute. The attorney general alleged that the companies violated the statute by refusing to offer a good driver discount to all eligible applicants. Eligibility for the discount hinged on a number of factors that were determinable under state insurance regulations, including whether the insurers applied an unfairly discriminatory insurance rate. The defendants asserted that the court did not have jurisdiction until the state insurance commissioner heard the claims. California insurance regulations provided for a complaint process for any person “aggrieved by any rate charged, rating plan, rating system, or underwriting rule.” The regulations further provided for judicial review of any findings by the commissioner. The California Superior Court found that it had jurisdiction over the claims. The California Court of Appeal affirmed. The California Supreme Court granted review.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Lucas, C.J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 804,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
