Meta Platforms Inc. said in a lawsuit filed Monday in federal court in San Francisco that six of its insurers should not be allowed to continue a Delaware state court coverage dispute until after the disposition of lawsuits alleging use of social media platforms caused individuals to injure themselves.

Menlo Park, California-based Meta, which operates social medial platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Threads and WhatsApp, said in Instagram LLC et al. v. Hartford Casualty Insurance Co. et al. that the insurers’ Nov. 1 filing of the Delaware state court lawsuit is an attempt to circumvent nearly 30 years of California case law that prohibits the filing of a coverage dispute until after the underlying lawsuit is decided.

Beginning in 2022, individuals, school districts, state attorneys general, local government entities and others began suing Meta, saying users injured themselves or developed mental illnesses such as anxiety, depression, eating disorders and sleep disorders as a result of using social media platforms. Thousands of lawsuits are currently proceeding in state court in California as well as a multidistrict litigation proceeding in federal court, court records show.

Meta is asking its general liability insurers, which include Hartford, its subsidiary Sentinel Insurance Co., Chubb Ltd. unit Federal Insurance Co., Old Republic Insurance Co., Starr Indemnity and Liability Co., and Zurich American Insurance Co., to provide a defense against and coverage for the lawsuits. According to Meta, the insurers have not fully funded its defense against the social media suits and Hartford has refused to defend against certain claims.

Meta accuses the insurers of breach of contract and bad faith.

Representatives for the parties did not respond to requests for comment.