Opinion ID: 874381
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Statute Unambiguously Requires the Manager to Distribute the Dividend According to the Formula Provided Therein

Text: The Fund argues that I.C. § 72-915 is ambiguous and, when read together with other statutes and laws, the affidavit of the Manager, and holdings from sister states, it grants the Manager the discretion to distribute dividends however he sees fit. The Plaintiffs, on the other hand, argue that the statute unambiguously requires the Manager to distribute the dividend monies proportionately according to the amount of premium paid by each policyholder who meets the six-month longevity requirement and who falls within the classes of employment sharing in the dividends. The statute in question reads: DIVIDENDS. At the end of every year, and at such other times as the manager in his discretion may determine, a readjustment of the rate shall be made for each of the several classes of employments or industries. If at any time there is an aggregate balance remaining to the credit of any class of employment or industry which the manager deems may be safely and properly divided, he may in his discretion, credit to each individual member of such class who shall have been a subscriber to the state insurance fund for a period of six (6) months or more, prior to the time of such readjustment, such proportion of such balance as he is properly entitled to, having regard to his prior paid premiums since the last readjustment of rates.