Opinion ID: 2519630
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Special Proceeding Against PGMA

Text: On March 11, 1997, the Commissioner initiated Special Proceeding No. 97-0135 in circuit court [hereinafter, Special Proceeding] to rehabilitate PGMA pursuant to Article 15 of the Insurance Code [hereinafter, Article 15], governing the supervision, rehabilitation, and liquidation of insurers. [3] On March 12, 1997, the court appointed the Commissioner to serve as the rehabilitator of PGMA. During the Special Proceeding, VEBAH argued [4] that Article 15 did not apply to PGMA because it was a mutual benefit society. On September 26, 1997, the Commissioner filed a motion seeking a declaratory judgment that Article 15 applied to the proceedings against PGMA. VEBAH filed a memorandum in opposition to the Commissioner's motion and appeared at the October 15, 1997 hearing on the motion. The circuit court ruled that Article 15 applied to the Special Proceeding and ordered the liquidation of PGMA pursuant to HRS §§ 431:15-305 [5] and 431:15-307 [6] (1993). The court appointed the Commissioner to serve as the liquidator of PGMA. A final order in the Special Proceeding was not filed until January 23, 2002, and a notice of appeal was filed by VEBAH on February 22, 2002.