In Nielsen Contracting, Inc. v. Applied Underwriters,
Inc., 22 Cal. App. 5th 1096 (2018), the Fourth District Court
of Appeal affirmed the trial court's denial of a motion to
compel arbitration and stay litigation filed by defendant Applied
Underwriters, Inc. ("Applied"), seeking to compel
arbitration of a workers compensation dispute pursuant to an
arbitration provision in a Reinsurance Participation Agreement
("RPA").
Nielsen Contracting, Inc. ("Nielsen") signed a
"Request to Bind" with Applied for its patented
workers' compensation program known as
"EquityComp." Under the agreement, California
Insurance Company ("CIC"), a subsidiary of Applied,
issued Nielsen a guaranteed-cost workers' compensation policy.
The Request to Bind also required Nielsen to sign the RPA with
Applied Underwriters Captive Risk Assurance Company, Inc.
("AUCRA"), another of Applied's
subsidiaries. Nielsen and AUCRA signed the RPA in December
2012, with a three-year term.
