BLUEFIELD – Canal Insurance Company is suing 5M Transport due to an underlying lawsuit filed by a 5M employee.
William J. Thompson was also named as a defendant in the suit.
Canal claims on March 5, 2018, Thompson, who was employed by 5M, was operating a 2009 Mack Tractor-Trailer owned by 5M and the brakes on the truck began to fail and he lost control and wrecked the tractor-trailer, according to a complaint filed in U.S. District for the Southern District of West Virginia.
Thompson filed or attempted to file a claim for workers' compensation benefits, but 5M's workers' compensation coverage had been canceled for non-payment. Thompson then filed a lawsuit against 5M.
Canal claims Thompson's claims fall within the insurance company's policy exclusions. It claims the employer's liability exclusion precludes coverage under the Canal policies.
Canal is seeking for the court to rule that the claims in the underlying complaint are not covered by the policy. It is represented by Sarah A. Walling and Lee Murray Hall of Jenkins Fenstermaker in Huntington.
U.S. District for the Southern District of West Virginia case number: 1:21-cv-00324
