U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals 

Posted: 1:00 am Fri, May 20, 2005
By admin

<button><b><font face="arial">Bankruptcy</font></b></button><b><i>Priority of claims</i></b><b>BOTTOM LINE:</b> A claim for unpaid workers’ compensation insurance premiums was entitled to priority status under the Bankruptcy Code.<b>CASE:</b> Howard Delivery Service, Inc. v. Zurich American Insurance Company, No. 04-1136 (decided March 24, 2005)(per curiam) (Judges King & Shedd, concurring)(Judge Niemeyer, dissenting). RecordFax No. 5-0324-60, 27 pages. <b>COUNSEL:</b> Margaret Mary Anderson, Lord, Bissell & Brook, Chicago, Il., for Appellant. Richard McMaster Francis, Bowles, Rice, McDavid, Graff & Love, P.L.L.C., Charleston, W.Va., for Appellee. <b>FACTS:</b> Under West Virginia law, employers in the state are required to “subscribe to and pay premium taxes into the [state’s] workers’ compensation fund for the protection of their employees.” W. Va. Code §23-2-1(a). Alternatively, an employer may self-insure by demonstrating its financ