CSX has moved a sprawling coverage fight into federal court, targeting a slate of major insurers it says went quiet on tenders tied to worker-injury suits from a Chicago rail project.
The complaint, filed 26 November in the Northern District of Illinois, outlines a dense chain of contracts for the Forest Hill Flyover at CSXT’s Forest Hill Yard on West 79th Street.
The case sits at an early stage, so nothing in the filing reflects a court ruling, only CSXT’s version of events.
The railroad hired Granite Construction Inc. and TranSystems Corporation under separate agreements. Granite’s contract, signed 24 May 2022, required the contractor to carry commercial general liability insurance cover for its direct and assumed liability and to list CSXT’s railroad entities as additional insureds.
It also agreed to defend and indemnify CSXT for a wide sweep of claims tied to its presence on railroad property or its work – even if CSXT’s own negligence played a partial role.
TranSystems’ 2020 agreement carried similar requirements around CGL, workers’ comp, employer’s liability, auto and, when needed, professional liability insurance.
Its indemnity promise ran to incidents caused or contributed to by its acts or omissions, except where CSXT alone caused the loss. Both contracts lean on Florida law.
Those risk-transfer clauses are now tested by two suits filed by Granite employees. Christopher Valente sued CSXT and TranSystems on 13 November 2024, claiming a crane lost a load and struck him on 23 May 2024.
A second worker, Henry Ipema, sued on 16 January 2025 after a 20 December 2023 fall he links to inadequate tie-off and unsafe fall-protection conditions. CSXT denies liability in both.
CSXT argues it qualifies as an additional insured under CGL and umbrella or excess policies issued to Granite, TranSystems, Gannett Fleming and related entities.
The roster of insurers includes Zurich National, Transportation Insurance, Continental Casualty, National Fire Insurance Company of Hartford, PA Manufacturers Indemnity, Old Republic Union and Travelers Property Casualty of America.
According to the filing, these policies should trigger defense and indemnity for the Valente and Ipema suits. CSXT says it tendered the claims in March, May and October 2025 and didn’t hear back.
The railroad now seeks declarations that each insurer must defend and indemnify it and reimburse damages, costs and fees tied to both injury cases.
It also pursues penalties under Illinois Insurance Code section 155, arguing the silence amounts to unreasonable and vexatious conduct.
Contractual indemnity claims accompany the insurance counts: CSXT says TranSystems, Granite and The Roderick Group d/b/a Ardmore Roderick owe defense and reimbursement obligations across the two suits, with Roderick tied specifically to the Ipema matter.
For insurance pros, the filing lands right where construction risk transfer, additional insured status and tender response protocols intersect.
We think the next phase turns on how quickly carriers and contractors answer in court, and whether primary or umbrella layers step up first, or try to sidestep the duty to defend altogether.
