American Manufacturers Mutual Insurance v. Commissioner of Insurance

On July 21, 1977, the plaintiff motor vehicle insurance carriers filed a complaint in the Supreme Judicial Court for the county of Suffolk seeking declaratory and injunctive relief from the operation of St. 1977, c. 365. The contested statute requires the plaintiffs, and all other insurers in Massachusetts, to rewrite certain automobile insurance contracts issued in 1977 retroactive to January 1, 1977, at reduced rates. The plaintiffs contend that the statute, in so far as it has retroactive effect, is unconstitutional. The plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction was heard before a…