INSURANCE

Consumer Groups Sue Quackenbush Over Legal Fees: Consumer advocates who helped to defend Proposition 103 against legal challenges by the insurance industry said they had filed a lawsuit to keep Insurance Commissioner Chuck Quackenbush from blocking their recovery of legal fees. The lawsuit, filed in San Francisco Superior Court, seeks to enforce an order issued by Quackenbush’s predecessor, John Garamendi, awarding the groups some $550,000 in legal fees and other expenses. Quackenbush suspended the order last month, saying he wanted to review the fees to determine their appropriateness. Harvey Rosenfield, author of Proposition 103, the 1988 insurance rate-cutting initiative, called the action “political retaliation” for Rosenfield’s criticism of Quackenbush.