APPLIED UNDERWRITERS CAPTIVE RISK ASSURANCE COMPANY, INC., APPLIED UNDERWRITERS, INC., APPLIED RISK SERVICES, INC., AND CONTINENTAL INDEMNITY COMPANY, PLAINTIFFS-APPELLANTS, v. NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF BANKING AND INSURANCE AND MARLENE CARIDE, IN HER OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS COMMISSIONER OF THE NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF BANKING AND INSURANCE, DE FE NDANTS-RE SPON DE NTS., 472 N.J. Super. 26

Summary

HOLDINGS: [1]-Because N.J.S.A. § 17:32-20 did not restrict the Commissioner of the Department of Banking and Insurance (Commissioner) to the path of a Superior Court action, the court remanded the matter, directing that a previously stayed hearing be reactivated. Based on the text, legislative history, and public policies of the statute as a whole, as well as principles of primary jurisdiction, the Commissioner had the authority to pursue an administrative complaint against two out-of-state companies instead of a lawsuit brought by the Attorney General.