May 9 hearing set to consider Washington Dental Service reorganization and merger plan

Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler has scheduled a hearing for 10 a.m. on May 9, 2013, in Olympia to consider whether he should approve or deny the request for the merger of Washington-based Washington Dental Services (WDS).


WDS has filed an application for its plan of reorganization and merger transaction that includes a proposed reverse merger of Washington Dental Service with and into a DD of Washington subsidiary to become a subsidiary of an existing holding company.

Here's a summary of the proposal, including background, history, and a brief explanation of the hearings process and what we look at. If the proposal is approved, WDS would become a subsidiary under a new holding company system. WDS would later change its corporate name to Delta Dental of Washington.


To view filed documents and information about the hearing process, go to Washington Dental Service #13-0115. (Scroll down a bit after clicking on that link.) Those documents include the notice of hearing, the reorganization plan, board resolutions, organizational charts, and other requests for transactions filed in this proceeding.

The hearing is open to the public. Any interested parties may submit letters of support or concerns or objections and/or may participate in the hearing by appearing in person or by telephone at no charge. For street address or directions on dialing in by phone (as well as more background on the proposal), please see the hearing order.

LOVE YOUR JOB? (Some Lawyers Apparently Do Not)

As an injury lawyer I help injured folks who have all kinds of jobs. Hearing about their different businesses is interesting.

Every year, a survey tries to gauge just who has the Happiest Job in America. The survey evaluates the key factors like work-life balance, one's relationship with their boss and co-workers, their work environment, job resources, compensation, growth opportunities, company culture, company reputation, their daily tasks, and job control over the work that they do on a daily basis.

In 2012, according to CareerBliss, some top picks were: Software Quality Assurance Engineer, Executive Chef, Property Manager, Teller, Warehouse Manager and Administrative Assistant.        

2013 saw some changes, with the addition of Real Estate Agent, Senior Sales Representative, Construction Superintendent, Senior Application Developer, Network Engineer and Assistant Controller.

What about the other end of the list? 

Who has the Unhappiest Jobs in America? In 2012, it was Security Officer, Registered Nurse, Teacher, Sales Engineer, Product Manager, Program Manager, Marketing Manager, Director of Sales, Marketing Director, and Maintenance Supervisor.

The Unhappiest Jobs in America in 2013 were Associate Attorney (even though average earnings were $111,000 per year), Customer Service Associate (getting paid little to be yelled at a lot), Clerk, and Pharmacy Tech.  Sadly, Registered Nurse and Teacher were again in the bottom ten.

We can look to another famous lawyer, no less than President Lincoln himself, for some sage advice:

“People are just as happy as they make up their minds to be.”

― Abraham Lincoln

 “Whatever you are, be a good one.”

― Abraham Lincoln

Cheap Car Insurance – What Factors You Should Consider

Car drivers must get auto insurance as soon as they buy new vehicles. It seems car insurance is an extra expense but you can find cheap car insurance if you consider a few things before going to buy.

Almost every state getting basic liability insurance is mandatory, but you should also think it otherwise that auto insurance lesson your cost in case of an accident. Because of rising living cost, car insurance becomes really burden for many drivers. That’s why people are looking for lower premiums and cheap auto insurance company.

What Factors You Should Consider To Get Cheap Car Insurance

Car Prices

The cost of vehicles is the primary factors to get lower premium car insurance. The less the cost of the car can be, the less premium you have to pay for. Luxury and high performance engine has high cost insurance because the accident rate is high and replacement parts are not available.

Size Of The Auto Insurance Companies

The car insurance companies those acquired largest share of the insurance market usually offer cheaper car insurance than other ones. Auto insurance companies like GEICO, State Farm, Progressive, American Family and Amica are the big insurance companies which offer services across the country can provide cheap car insurance. Another factor is the market reputation. An auto insurance company gains reputation for a long time by its service quality, customer satisfactions and claim processing timing, so buy auto insurance policy from such company and you will get cheaper rates.

Age Of The Car Insurance Company

Many car drivers prefer older auto insurance companies to get the best auto insurance quotes and the oldest insurance companies also offer cheaper rates to get customers and to survive from competitions.

Sometimes newer auto insurance companies offer cheap auto insurance quotes because of competitions and you can get advantage of ages.

Car Insurance Restrictions

Many drivers think getting cheap car insurance is the best policy, but it’s not always true. Companies may impose many restrictions on your policy which initially seems cheaper but in the long run it may not be cheaper anymore. Read all the pros and cons about the coverage and other terms and conditions if you miss anything. Carefully checking the policy may save you time and money.

Driving Record

Car insurance companies have no problem to provide cheapest auto insurance if they find the accident risk is very low and your driving records are clean. You also can get discounts if they consider you as a safe driver. Teenagers have the higher insurance quotes because they tend to be risky for the insurance companies.

Discount On Auto Insurance

If you insure your homes, other vehicles and asset to the same auto insurance company, you will definitely get discounts on insurance policies.

These are the simple but effective factors to consider getting cheap car insurance. It’s not difficult to find if you know what factors the car insurance companies consider to provide cheap car insurance.

Action Against Municipality Dismissed for Failing to Give Notice

In August of last year, we reported on Argue v. Tay (Township), in which the action was dismissed for the failure to give notice required by s. 44(10) of the Municipal Act.  The plaintiff argued that the municipality had actual or constructive knowledge of the accident because the municipal fire department attended the scene.  The matter was appealed to the Court of Appeal, which has now dismissed the appeal at 2013 ONCA 247 (CanLii).

The Court of Appeal confirmed that the plaintiff had the onus of establishing that she had a reasonable excuse for not providing notice and that the municipality was not prejudiced.  The motions judge held that she failed to meet her onus.  The Court of Appeal found no error in the motion judge's analysis or his application of the relevant principles.

This is an extremely helpful decision in cases where the plaintiff has failed to provide notice to the Municipality.