The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • 32

SATURDAY. DECEMBER 23. 1989 A31 IDS ANGELES TIMES California Appeals Court Blocks Assigned-Risk Increase IN BRIEF maommf: Guaranteed Low Prices! I SATURDAY I 9AM-11PM SUNDAY 9AM-5PM increase before Gillespie first imposed her freeze on rate increases Oct 2, and Gillespie's attorneys fear there that their position for a freeze may not be as strong as with companies that had made no such announcement Gillespie first indicated in October that she would not seek to apply her rate freeze to assigned-risk customers. However, she later said she wished to delay increases for those customers as well, at least until the assigned-risk system is reformed to guarantee that insurance mandated by the state is affordable to poor drivers. Under the assigned-risk system, drivers who cannot or do not desire to obtain the state-required minimum liability coverage by buying directly from insurers are assigned among various companies, according to each company's share of the state's auto insurance business.

The companies contend that most of these customers, which now number about 1.2 million, are higher risks to insure than regular customers. The companies say they are losing $600 million a year on such business, and they have been applying to Gillespie since last February for a 112.3 increase to stem these losses. Gillespie rejected any increase shortly before Vogel's order Monday to allow a 40 "interim" rate increase for the 400,000 of these drivers who have bad safety records. Her attorneys argued before Vogel, and in their appeal later, that imposing such an increase would simply push many of these drivers to abandon the insurance system and illegally go uninsured. The Gillespie appeal also argued that Vogel's order had been improper because all of the insurers' administrative remedies before the Department of Insurance had not been exhausted.

Friday's stay was announced mid-afternoon after most of the parties, including Gillespie, Allstate spokesmen and attorneys for the insurer-dominated Assigned Risk Plan board of governors, had left for the Christmas holiday, so none of them were available for comment However, one of Gillespie's attorneys, Dana Carli Brooks, expressed satisfaction with the order, and indicated that the commissioner will be pursuing other action in the next few days to block the Farmers increase as welL Insurance: Gillespie gains a temporary victory in battle to hold off rate hikes under Prop. 103. By KENNETH REICH TIMES STAFF WRITE! A state appeals court Friday blocked indefinitely a Los Angeles judge's order allowing Allstate Insurance Co. to increase by 40 the rate it charges "bad drivers" among its assigned-risk policyholders. The 2nd District Court of Appeal's action to stay the order came within 24 hours of an appeal by Insurance Commissioner Roxani Gillespie.

It gave Gillespie a temporary victory in her battle to keep the state's auto insurance sellers from raising their rates until they cooperate with the implementation of Proposition 103. The appeals court stayed the order of Superior Court Judge Miriam A. VogeL who had indicated that she would quickly extend her Allstate order to all insurance companies participating in the assigned-risk plan. That would affect about 400,000 "bad drivers" with more than one traffic citation in the previous three years, but the stay issued Friday will apparently keep her from doing so for the time being. Unaffected by the stay was another Vogel order allowing the Farmers group of companies to impose an average 5.9 statewide auto insurance rate increase Jan.

1. Gillespie is seeking to kill off that increase for 2 million drivers through administrative action, although Farmers executives have said they will ignore such action and go ahead with their increase. The Court of Appeal ordered the parties in the Allstate case to submit briefs by next Friday arguing their respective positions, but it set no hearing date. Both sides have predicted that the issue of whether Gillespie can block rate increases, pending Proposition 103's implementation, will ultimately end up before at least the state Supreme Court and very possibly the U.S. Supreme Court An important practical question is whether the insurance companies will be allowed to raise their rates in the meantime or whether such increases will be halted until the matter is resolved.

Friday's stay was an initial indication that many rates could be frozen for a long time. The Farmers case is a special one because that group of companies had given notice of a rate S3 GoldStar A galaxy at excellence Goldstar Telephone Answering Machine with Remote PlaybackErase remote playback, eras save options call screening lets you hear who's calling before you decide to take the call memo memory for keying in phone number into memory while on the line LEO MSG count (flashing LED) CPC switch toll saver saves money on long distance SAN FRANCISCO Train Engineer Not Tested for Alcohol Two California Highway Patrol officers said Friday the engineer of a train that struck and killed two men last Saturday had alcohol on his breath, but Southern Pacific investigators disagreed and did not test him for drunkenness. The engineer, after being questioned by three railroad officials, was allowed to continue in command of the train after the accident "I could smell an alcoholic beverage on the engineer's breath," said CHP Sgt Harry Larson, who interviewed the engineer immediately after the accident "He sat in the car with me for 5 or 10 minutes. He was not grossly intoxicated, but he smelled as if he'd been drinking." Larson and Officer Bill Herbert said the engineer, whose identity has not been made public, did not display any other signs of drunkenness. Because the accident was not within their jurisdiction, the officers filed a report and turned the case over to railroad police licensed by the state and employed by Southern Pacific.

OAKLAND Parents Protest Children's Removal A group of about 50 parents protested "overzealous" social service agencies that they contend prematurely remove children from their homes after false allegations of abuse are made. "While child abuse, whether sexual, physical or emotional, is a grave problem not to be excused, too many children are being removed prematurely from their homes," said Shoneen Gervich of Victims of Child Abuse Laws. Alameda County Superior Court Judge Michael Ballachey defended the Family Court services that he supervises. "We must protect the interest of the children, and I have every confidence that our Family Court and administrative staff is meeting that responsibility," he said. SAN FRANCISCO Drug Tests Blocked for Transit Workers Federally ordered random drug testing for San Francisco transit workers has been blocked by a Superior Court judge, days after an Alameda County judge made a similar ruling.

San Francisco Superior Court Judge John Dearman issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting random tests of about 2,500 municipal railway workers until Jan. 5, when a hearing is scheduled on labor unions' request for a longer-lasting preliminary injunction. Earlier in the week, an Alameda County Superior Court judge issued a restraining order against random drug testing of Alameda-Contra Costa Transit bus drivers. The U.S. Department of Transportation required all local governments to begin random drug testing of transit workers Dec.

18 in order to remain eligible for Urban Mass Transit Administration money. From Time Staff and Wire Report IS GoldStar A galaxy of excellence Goldstar Telephone Answering Machine with Remote and Auto Disconnect advanced remote features like playback, erase save LEO MSG count (flashing LEO) LEO numeric MSG count display auto disconnect (extension pickup) call screeningtoll saver CPC switch memo memory Man Guilty in Pit Bull's Killing of Boy ter a day and a half of deliberations. Berry, who could have faced 15 years in prison if convicted of the murder charge, was also found guilty of owning a mischievous animal, cultivating marijuana, and keeping a fighting dog. Judge James Flaherty set a January sentencing date. Berry, 39, was charged in connection with the June 13, 1987, death of James Soto, his neighbor, who wandered into the Berry yard and was mauled to death by Berry's 4-year-old pit bull, Willy.

From Associated Press SAN JOSE In the first case of its kind, a jury Friday acquitted a Morgan Hill man of second-degree murder in his pit bull's fatal attack on a 2-year-old boy, but found him guilty of involuntary manslaughter and three lesser charges. It was the first time in this country someone had been charged with murder for an attack made by his dog. The Santa Clara County Superior Court jury returned the verdicts against Michael Berry af g. GoldStar A galaxy ol excellence FOR LAST-MINUTE SHOPPERS AND AFTER CHRISTMAS! MTERNA TIONAL PENS: hdwtng kaaow Mont Uok. Croat CoBbri.

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