SAN DIEGO – An Escondido corporation is alleged to have misrepresented facts to two insurance companies.
Zurich American Insurance Co. and Zurich American Insurance Co. of Illinois filed a complaint on March 9 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California against Solvis Staffing Services Inc. and Does 1 through 50 citing rescission, unjust enrichment and other counts.
According to the complaint, Solvis Staffing Services allegedly made "material misrepresentations and omissions in its applications for workers’ compensation insurance with Zurich American under a program administered by Word Wide Specialty Programs Inc. Solvis Staffing represented to Zurich American and WWSPI that it was a temporary staffing agency and failed to disclose in its applications for insurance that it was providing services as a Professional Employer Organization ('PEO'), which is an unacceptable underwriting risk and excluded under Zurich American’s underwriting guidelines."
The plaintiffs allege that based on these misrepresentations, Zurich American Insurance Co. of Illinois issued policies to the defendant. The plaintiffs allege that it has no duty to defend or indemnify defendant's underlying claims for workers' compensation benefits because of these misrepresentations.
The plaintiffs seek declaration that the Zurich American policies are rescinded and void, declare that Zurich American as no duty to defend Solvis for the underlying workers' compensation benefit claims, attorneys' fees and costs. They are represented by Blaise S. Curet and John T. Meno of Sinnott, Puebla, Campagne & Curet APLC in Emeryville.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California case number 3:18-cv-00517-W-NLS