Bobby N. Harmon, CPCU, ARM
Louisville, Kentucky 40229-1655
August 19, 2003
VIA fax only @ (559) 490-1919
Ms. Julie A. Schermerhorn, Supervisor, and
Mr. Justin W. Schuck, Case Manager
American Arbitration Association
6795 North Palm Avenue, 2nd Floor
Fresno, California 93704
RE: Mary Lou Woo, Trustee v. Bobby N. Harmon
Case No. 74 166 00491 03 JUSC
Dear Ms. Schermerhorn and Mr. Schuck:
This letter responds to Steven Guttman’s letter dated August 18, 2003, in which he states:
“The trustee objects to Mr. Harmon’s request to place the arbitration ‘on hold until such time as the Insurance Division, State of Hawaii, has had time to act on (his) complaint.’ Mr. Harmon has been told he does not have insurance coverage and his complaint to the State of Hawaii Insurance Division will not affect the decision of the insurance company.”
“Mr. Harmon was able to delay the commencement of the arbitration for approximately five and one-half months based upon his frivolous objections to various individuals proposed by the AAA to serve as arbitrators. Now that an arbitrator has finally been selected, Mr. Harmon apparently wants to continue to pursue his own agenda through the Hawaii regulatory agency and encumber the arbitration process with further delays. Independent of the merits (or lack thereof) of his insurance arguments, the State of Hawaii’s complaint regulatory process will have no effect on his obtaining insurance coverage for his actions subsequent to his employment termination and entering into the settlement agreement that is the subject of the arbitration.”
The statements regarding my complaint and the effect on my obtaining insurance coverages are inaccurate and untrue. My complaint to the Insurance Commissioner concerns a legal issue – not a coverage issue. Insurance companies licensed to do business in Hawaii are subject to regulation by the State of Hawaii Insurance Division. One such regulation is that insurance claims must be administered by a State-licensed Insurance Adjuster. To my knowledge, neither Clyde Mark nor Matt Tsukazaki are licensed Adjusters for P&C Insurance Company, Inc., or for the insurance companies they refused to name. If my understanding is correct, then P&C has engaged in unfair claims practices and is in violation of Hawaii’s Insurance Statutes.
Regarding Mr. Guttman’s statement that my complaint will have no effect on my obtaining insurance coverage, I would point out that the Insurance Division does not have the authority, nor are they being asked, to make a coverage decision. Likewise, Mr. Guttman is not in a position to interpret coverages or prejudge how P&C or any other insurance company might ultimately act upon my claim.
Mr. Guttman complains that I have been able to delay the commencement of the arbitration for approximately five and one-half months based upon my “frivolous objections to various individuals proposed by the AAA to serve as arbitrators.” It is my contention that my objections, in a layman’s opinion, were real and factual, and that it has been Mr. Guttman’s insistence upon selecting an arbitrator who would appear not to meet the AAA’s requirements for experience and neutrality that has been the real cause of these delays.
I call your attention to the following comments in my Answering Statement to Demand for Arbitration made on May 13, 2003:
“Harmon asks the Arbitrator to take note of the fact that the copy of the Agreement which was filed with the Court does not show an effective date and is not signed by any party except Bobby Harmon. It is Respondents’ opinion, therefore, that the Agreement should be declared invalid.
“Harmon has requested, on numerous occasions, that certain attorneys who negotiated the Settlement Agreement provide evidence that they were, in fact, the Attorney of Record for the defendants they professed to represent in Harmon’s Wrongful Termination and RICO lawsuits. This evidence has never been provided.
“Prior to the commencement of this arbitration, Harmon asks that the Trustee provide to the Arbitrator, and to the Respondents, Attorney of Record letters or similar instruments from all attorneys for the defendants in both of Harmon’s lawsuits.
“Should any attorney be unable to produce evidence that they were, in fact, the Attorney of Record for the defendants they purported to represent, then it would appear that the question of interpretation of the Agreement would be moot, and this arbitration process should not proceed.”
Even after all these months, Mr. Guttman still has not produced any evidence that these attorneys, including Matt Tsukazaki, were the legal Attorneys of Record in these lawsuits which Mr. Guttman “settled” on behalf of the Trustee. I still maintain that, in the interests of fairness, expediency and cost-effectiveness, Mr. Guttman should produce this evidence prior to the start of the arbitration hearings.
In the case of Matt Tsukazaki, Mr. Guttman would have you overlook the fact that Tsukazaki has claimed to be not only the Attorney of Record for Kamehameha Schools and P&C Insurance Company, Inc., but also the Claims Adjuster for P&C as well as other, unnamed insurance companies on whose behalf Mr. Tsukazaki has denied my claims. To me, speaking from my experience as an insurance professional and not an attorney, this literally shouts, “Fraud,” “Conflicts of Interest,” “Bad Faith,” and “Unfair Claims Practices.” However, this is ultimately for the Insurance Commissioner to decide – not me or Mr. Guttman.
As far as this unduly delaying the arbitration process, as Mr. Guttman maintains it would, my basic question to the Insurance Commissioner is whether or not Clyde Mark and Matt Tsukazaki are licensed Claims Adjusters. I believe this would require but a few days to answer. If the Commissioner’s answer is, “YES, they are licensed Claims Adjusters,” then I would agree that this particular issue is resolved.
If the Commissioner’s answer is, “NO,” however, then I would contend that the arbitration should not proceed–at least until such time P&C’s legitimate, licensed Claims Adjuster has had the opportunity to review this case and render his coverage decision. For the AAA to commence the arbitration proceedings while I am still in the process of contesting the validity of the insurance company’s denial of coverages, would give an unfair advantage to the Complainant in this case and should not be allowed.
Sincerely,
Bobby N. Harmon
cc: Mary Lou Woo, Trustee, c/o Steven Guttman (via fax @ 808-529-7177)
J.P. Schmidt, Hawaii Insurance Commissioner (via fax @ 808-586-2806)
Terry Mullen, CEO/President, John Mullen & Co. (via fax @ 808-531-0053)
Casimer Fidele, Island Insurance Co. (via fax @ 808-539-9738)
Attorney General Mark Bennett (via fax @ 808-586-1239)
Dr. Randy Roth, Office of the Governor (via fax @ 808-586-0006)
Janet S. Hughes, Mgr. IRS (via fax @ 303-844-3596)
Ralph F. Boyd, Jr., et al., U.S. Dept. of Justice (via fax @ 202-514-1116)
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