Colorado Division of Insurance v. Statewide Bonding, Inc.


The summaries of the Colorado Court of Appeals published opinions constitute no part of the opinion of the division but have been prepared by the division for the convenience of the reader. The summaries may not be cited or relied upon as they are not the official language of the division. Any discrepancy between the language in the summary and in the opinion should be resolved in favor of the language in the opinion. SUMMARY June 23, 2022 2022COA67 No. 21CA0466, Colo. Div. of Ins. v. Statewide Bonding — Insurance — Colorado Division of Insurance — Immigration Delivery Bonds; Constitutional Law — Sixth Amendment — Federal Supremacy — Preemption As a matter of first impression, a division of the court of appeals concludes that the Colorado Division of Insurance’s jurisdiction to investigate and regulate Colorado-licensed insurance producers that provide immigration bonds is not preempted by federal law. COLORADO COURT OF APPEALS 2022COA67 Court of Appeals No. 21CA0466 State of Colorado Division of Insurance Case No. IN-2019-E-001 Colorado Division of Insurance, Petitioner-Appellee, v. Statewide Bonding, Inc., Non-resident Insurance Producer No. 476070 and Brian Jerome Cole, Respondents-Appellants. ORDER AFFIRMED IN PART AND REVERSED IN PART, AND CASE REMANDED WITH DIRECTIONS Division III Opinion by JUDGE SCHUTZ Welling and Taubman*, JJ., concur Announced June 23, 2022 Philip J. Weiser, Attorney General, Heather Flannery, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Christopher J.L. Diedrich, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Kyle McDaniel, Assistant Attorney General, Denver, Colorado, for Petitioner-Appellee Sheila H. Meer P.C., Sheila H. Meer, Diana R. M. Schanz, Denver, Colorado, for Respondents-Appellants *Sitting by assignment of the Chief Justice under provisions of Colo. Const. art. VI, § 5(3), and § 24-51-1105, C.R.S. 2021. ¶1 In this case involving immigration delivery bonds, respondents, Statewide Bonding, Inc. (Statewide) and Brian Jerome Cole (collectively, Respondents), appeal the final agency order issued by the Commissioner of Insurance (Commissioner).1 The Commissioner upheld the decision of an administrative law judge (ALJ) finding that Respondents violated Colorado’s insurance statutes and regulations and assessing civil penalties against them. As a matter of first impression, we conclude that the Commissioner’s jurisdiction, as delegated to the employees at the Colorado Division of Insurance (Division), to investigate and regulate Colorado-licensed insurance producers that provide immigration bonds is not preempted by federal law. ¶2 Respondents also appeal that portion of the Commissioner’s order reversing the ALJ’s award of attorney fees in favor of Respondents and against the Division. We affirm in part and reverse in part. 1 The Commissioner is the head of the Colorado Division of Insurance. § 10-1-104(1), C.R.S. 2021. The Division of Insurance is housed within the Department of Regulatory Agencies and is charged with the execution of the laws relating to insurance and has a supervising authority over the business of insurance in this state. § 10-1-103(1), C.R.S. 2021. 1 I. Immigration Bonds ¶3 To better understand the issues presented on appeal, it is useful to briefly summarize the purpose and operation of immigration delivery bonds. When an undocumented immigrant has been civilly detained by …

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Source: All recent Immigration Decisions In All the U.S. Courts of Appeals