04:15 PM EDT, 07/12/2024 (MT Newswires) -- A Chubb ( CB ) subsidiary wants a federal court in California to decide if it is obligated to pay legal costs of sex-abuse claims against a Roman Catholic diocese after the church's original insurer went out of business.

The Chubb ( CB ) subsidiary, Westchester Fire Insurance, issued a series of excess coverage policies to the Diocese of Orange in suburban Los Angeles to supplement professional liability insurance taken out by the diocese between 1981 to 1984. After Centennial Insurance was liquidated, the diocese now wants Westchester to cover its costs because Centennial no longer can.

In its lawsuit filed Thursday in the US District Court for the Central District of California, Westchester argued it has no "drop down" obligation to cover any of those costs until all of Centennial's and the diocese's resources are exhausted.

Chubb ( CB ) has reportedly been fighting to avoid legal costs in sex-abuse claims in several other jurisdictions, including the archdioceses of San Francisco and New York, while has reportedly been trying to block efforts by a diocese in New Jersey to secure bankruptcy protection against victim claims.

The diocese did not immediately respond to request for comment by MT Newswires.

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