§ 27-14.3-4. Jurisdiction and venue. (a) A delinquency proceeding shall be commenced under this chapter by the commissioner and no court shall have jurisdiction to entertain, hear or determine any proceeding commenced by any other person; provided, that a Rhode Island trade association or another similar entity or entities representing nonprofit hospitals in Rhode Island acting by and through its members shall be consulted prior to the commencement of and included as a party to a delinquency proceeding brought against nonprofit hospital service corporations, nonprofit medical service corporations, or nonprofit dental service corporations; and provided, that a trade association or similar entity or entities may request a hearing before the commissioner in order to require the commissioner to commence a delinquency proceeding under this chapter against nonprofit hospital service corporations, nonprofit medical service corporations, or nonprofit dental service corporations, and if the commissioner does not hold the hearing within ten (10) business days of the request or if the request is denied after the hearing, the requesting party may petition the superior court for Providence County for an order directing the commissioner to commence a delinquency proceeding pursuant to this chapter and the court shall hear the petition on an expedited basis. The administrative proceeding before the commissioner and the judicial review of those proceedings, and all records and other documents or papers relating to the proceedings so far as they pertain to or are a part of the record of the proceedings, shall be and remain confidential except as is necessary to obtain compliance with the proceedings, unless and until the superior court for the county of Providence, after hearing arguments from the parties in chambers, shall order otherwise or unless the nonprofit hospital corporation, nonprofit medical corporation, or nonprofit dental service corporation request that the matter be made public. All papers shall be held in confidential files.

(b) No court of this state shall have jurisdiction to entertain, hear, or determine any complaint praying for the dissolution, liquidation, rehabilitation, sequestration, conservation, or receivership of any insurer or praying for an injunction or restraining order or other relief preliminary to, incidental to, or relating to those proceedings other than in accordance with this chapter.

(c) In addition to other grounds for jurisdiction provided by the law of this state, a court of this state having jurisdiction of the subject matter has jurisdiction over a person served pursuant to Rule 4 of the Superior Court Rules of Civil Procedure or other applicable provisions of law in an action brought by the receiver of a domestic insurer or an alien insurer domiciled in this state:

(1) If the person served is an agent, broker, insurance producer, or other person who has at any time written policies of insurance for or has acted in any manner on behalf of an insurer against which a delinquency proceeding has been instituted, in any action resulting from or incident to this relationship with the insurer;

(2) If the person served is a reinsurer who has at any time entered into a contract of reinsurance with an insurer against which a delinquency proceeding has been instituted, or is an agent, insurance producer, or broker of or for the reinsurer, in any action on or incident to the reinsurance contract;

(3) If the person served is or has been an officer, director, manager, trustee, organizer, promoter, or other person in a position of comparable authority or influence over an insurer against which a delinquency proceeding has been instituted, in any action resulting from or incident to this relationship with the insurer;

(4) If the person served is or was at the time of the institution of the delinquency proceeding against the insurer holding assets in which the receiver claims an interest on behalf of the insurer, in any action concerning the assets; or

(5) If the person served is obligated to the insurer in any way, in any action on or incident to the obligation.

(d) If the court on motion of the liquidator finds any action should as a matter of substantial justice be tried in a forum outside of this state, the court may enter an appropriate order to stay further proceedings on the action in this state.

(e) All action authorized pursuant to this section shall be brought in the superior court for the county of Providence.

History of Section. (P.L. 1993, ch. 248, § 1.)