Travelers is trying to end its defense in a fatal Spokane crash, saying the wreck had nothing to do with the paving it insured.
The carrier filed suit on September 3, 2026, in federal court in Spokane, asking a judge to release it from defending Spokane County and its road contractor – and to hand those costs to four rival insurers.
The chain starts with a construction job. Spokane County hired Scarsella Bros. Inc. to build out the Bigelow Gulch Road Project 5 on March 17, 2020, according to the complaint. Scarsella subcontracted the paving to Poe Asphalt Paving, which finished on September 18, 2020. Poe’s subcontract required commercial general liability cover of “$3,000,000 per occurrence” and “$3,000,000 annual aggregate (project specific),” and named the county and the contractor as additional insureds – meaning they could tap Poe’s coverage for claims tied to Poe’s work…