A New York-based insurer has taken Travelers to federal court, alleging it walked away from its obligation to defend multiple parties - including Meta - on a Manhattan construction injury claim.
Stillwater Property and Casualty Insurance Company filed the complaint on September 11 in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, naming The Travelers Indemnity Company of America as the sole defendant.
The dispute stems from an underlying personal injury lawsuit tied to a February 2022 incident at 421 Eighth Avenue in Manhattan. A construction worker employed by subcontractor Curtis Partitions Corp. alleges he was injured while installing ceiling tile when he was struck by a ceiling grill at the site.
That underlying lawsuit names several project entities as defendants: the James A. Farley Condominium Board of Managers, J.T. Magen Company Inc., Manhattan Mechanical Contractors Inc., and Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook Inc.).
According to the complaint, a contract between J.T. Magen and Curtis Partitions required the subcontractor to obtain commercial general liability (CGL) coverage naming J.T. Magen, Manhattan Mechanical, Facebook, and the board as additional insureds - meaning they would be covered under the subcontractor's policy - on a "primary and non-contributory basis." In practical terms, that language is designed to make the subcontractor's insurer pay first, without seeking contribution from other policies.
Curtis Partitions held a Travelers CGL policy running from April 1, 2021 to April 1, 2022. Separately, Stillwater issued its own CGL policy covering J.T. Magen, Facebook, Meta, and the board, effective from October 1, 2021 to October 1, 2022. Both policies were active on the date of the incident.
Stillwater alleges that a formal request - known as a tender - was sent to Curtis Partitions' liability insurers in May 2025, asking them to pick up the defense, indemnification, and additional insured coverage for the project entities. The complaint states Stillwater followed up with a "final tender" to Travelers in February 2026, challenging Travelers' position that its obligations were secondary to Stillwater's own policy.
Despite those demands, Stillwater alleges, Travelers refused to accept its defense and indemnity obligations on a primary basis. The complaint also claims Travelers denied additional insured status for Meta entirely.
Stillwater says it has been defending J.T. Magen, Facebook, Meta, Manhattan Mechanical, and the board in the underlying action and has racked up defense costs it says Travelers should be paying. The complaint brings five causes of action: breach of contract; a request for the court to formally declare each side's obligations; a further breach claim seeking repayment of past defense costs; unjust enrichment, arguing Travelers has unfairly benefited from Stillwater footing the bill; and equitable contribution, seeking Travelers' share of the defense costs.
Stillwater asks the court to declare that the project entities qualify as additional insureds under the Travelers policy on a primary and non-contributory basis, and to order reimbursement of all defense costs paid to date along with future costs, disbursements, and attorneys' fees.
No specific damages figure is stated in the complaint beyond the $75,000 minimum required to bring the case in federal court. As of the filing date, no response from Travelers has been recorded.
These are allegations in a civil complaint, and no court has made any findings or rulings on the merits.
