Travelers Insurance Sued by Valve Maker Over Contamination Costs

Travelers Cos. units were hit with a lawsuit by a California-based maker of automatic control valves over the insurers’ refusal to cover costs to address contamination at a manufacturing site.

The insurance units—Travelers Indemnity Co., Travelers Casualty and Surety Co. of America, and St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Co.—breached their duties under liability policies dating back to the 1960s issued to Griswold Industries Co., doing business as Cla-Val Co., the manufacturer said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday in the US District Court for the Central District of California.

The environmental actions cited in the complaint include a 2011 consent ...