ABI Amicus Supported Recent Positive Supreme Court Ruling

May 9, 2019

Last summer, ABI submitted an amicus brief to the Supreme Court in Clark v. Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania. The case dealt with the constitutionality of Iowa Code Chapter 517.5 as it relates to immunity of liability in workplace inspections and how that correlates with workers’ compensation. The plaintiffs in the case argued the code violated the equal protection clause under the Iowa Constitution because they believe the statute impermissibly treats private insurance company inspectors differently than government inspectors when it comes to immunity. The plaintiffs also argued it violated their fundamental right of access to the courts. The District Court ruled for the defendants at the District Court level, and the case was appealed to the Supreme Court.

Due to the potential effect a negative ruling by the Supreme Court could have on Iowa employers and insurance carriers as it relates to workers’ compensation, ABI along with members EMC and United Fire Group submitted an amicus authored by the Bradshaw law firm, another ABI member. In our amicus, we asked the Supreme Court to affirm the District Court’s ruling, which they unanimously did on Friday, May 3. If you would like to read the decision and watch the oral arguments, click here.