YOUNGSTOWN — An insurance company is suing the city, stating that it cannot be held responsible for any financial claims — which could be $5 million — in a wrongful death lawsuit because Youngstown failed to report the incident to the company until almost five years after it happened.

In the federal lawsuit, U.S. Specialty Insurance Co. — which issued a liability policy to the city from Dec. 31, 2016, to Dec. 31, 2018 — stated it shouldn’t have to cover Youngstown because the city breached its policy requirements by failing to notify the company “as soon as practicable of any ‘occurrence’ that may result in a claim and any claim or ‘suit’ brought against any insured.”

Thomas Morar of Youngstown was injured June 17, 2017, while riding a motorcycle on Oak Street Extension on the city’s East Side when a tree fell on him. Morar died April 2, 2019, at the age of 80.

Cheryl Durig of Newton Falls, the executor of Morar’s estate, sued Youngstown on June 14, 2019, for economic damages, pain and suffering, and wrongful death arising out of the accident.

That lawsuit states Morar “suffered significant injuries, great pain of both his body and mind, emotional distress, humiliation, loss of dignity, loss of enjoyment of life and incurred medical treatment” as a result of the accident.

Also, that lawsuit states the city was aware that the tree that fell on Morar was in poor condition and though it was on city property, city officials did nothing to address it.

In its lawsuit, USSIC wrote that it was first told of the accident and the Durig lawsuit on April 7 and therefore “owes no coverage for the matter under the policy.”

During a Jan. 12 pretrial conference, Durig, through her attorney, “advised the court that her settlement demand was $5 million,” according to the USSIC lawsuit.

“USSIC disputes that coverage exists for the lawsuit under the (city’s) policy,” the lawsuit reads.

The insurance company also wrote that the city made a number of legal errors in how it handled the case in addition to taking too long to inform it of the lawsuit.

City Law Director Jeff Limbian said, “There are so many nuances and mitigating factors we are considering. We have lawyers working on it.

“It commenced in 2017 before Mayor (Jamael Tito) Brown took office and we’re dealing with it five years later. We’ve been working on it for a long time,” Limbian said.

The Durig civil lawsuit is scheduled to begin on Monday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court. Visiting Judge Thomas Pokorny is hearing the case.

The city asked Pokorny last Thursday to stay the case. No decision had been made as of Tuesday.