Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler has filed a lawsuit seeking damages from three out-ofstate companies and their principals, alleging that they defrauded Cascade National Insurance Company and precipitated the Bellevue insurance company's financial failure.

Kreidler assumed control of Cascade National in 2004 when the company was placed in receivership by Thurston County Superior Court after finding that the company did not meet statutory financial requirements. The Office of the Insurance Commissioner subsequently initiated liquidation proceedings last Autumn after determining that the company's deteriorating financial condition precluded its rehabilitation and that there was no viable potential for its sale.

Kreidler has filed the lawsuit in his capacity as the company's liquidator. The lawsuit alleges that Cascade was victimised in a deceptive purchase scheme involving several companies and their principals operating in Texas, California, Kentucky and Florida. Although the exact amount of damages will be proven at trial, the lawsuit seeks in excess of $10 million that arose from the deceptive practices, breaches and wrongful acts.