Aug. 06--Recent court filings show Sybrina Fulton, mother of Trayvon Martin, has filed a claim for monetary damages against an insurance company for the Retreat at Twin Lakes homeowners association in her 17-year-old son's death.

The insurance claim was revealed in paperwork filed last week by Travelers Casualty and Surety Company of America. In those documents, the insurer seeks clarification of its responsibilities in the teen's death and asks a federal judge to absolve Travelers of liability.

The teen, who was staying at Retreat at Twin Lakes with his father's girlfriend, was shot by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman Feb. 26 while returning from a local 7-Eleven store, authorities say. Prosecutors allege Zimmerman profiled and pursued the teen; Zimmerman says he fired in self defense after Trayvon attacked.

About a month after the shooting, the federal filings show, Travelers issued an insurance policy to the homeowners association, effective March 30. "After the inception of the claims-made policy, Fulton made a claim for monetary damages..." Travelers says "...as a result of the fatal shooting of Martin."

Travelers writes in its filing that the company "is in doubt of its rights" under the policy and "seeks a declaration of its rights and obligations with respect to the claim" made by Fulton.

The insurance company cites an exemption in its policy with the homeowners association, which says the insurer "shall not be liable to make any payment" arising from "bodily injury, sickness, mental anguish, emotional distress, disease or death of any person, provided that this exclusion shall not apply" to allegations "made as part of a Claim for Wrongful Employment Practices."

The insurer has asked the court to rule that Travelers "has no duty to defend The Retreat at Twin Lakes" against Fulton's claim. The amount of Fulton's claim is not explicitly stated in the court filings, but the insurance company writes that the "amount in controversy exceeds the sum of $75,000."

Benjamin Crump, an attorney for the teen's family, said that the Martins are investigating possible claims with "all the insurance companies that might be applicable" and was seeking to determine "whatever the insurance limits were."

"It's our job, as lawyers, to make sure that we protect our client's interest," Crump said. He said that while Fulton is "trying to get justice for her son in the criminal courts," the family is also pursuing claims against "entities that we believe are also accountable."

jeweiner@tribune.com or 407-420-5171

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