Jim Bryan

James W. Bryan has practiced in the area of civil litigation with a concentration in insurance coverage, bad faith litigation, tort litigation, trucking industry defense, commercial litigation and environmental law. He is a member of the firm's business litigation practice group and is co-chair of its insurance litigation committee as well as its trucking and transportation committee.

An occasional seminar presenter, Mr. Bryan has participated in transportation litigation, insurance coverage, civil procedure and evidence seminars. He is frequently involved in insurance coverage and bad faith litigation involving construction disputes, as well as trucking accident defense litigation and motor carrier regulatory and compliance matters.

Mr. Bryan is a member of the Trucking Industry Defense Association, Transportation Lawyers Association and North Carolina Trucking Association.  

He is a member of the Defense Research Institute's Insurance Law, Commercial Litigation, Diversity and Trucking Law Committees. He is the past Chair for the DRI's Insurance Law Committee's annual meeting.

Mr. Bryan is a member of the American Bar Association's Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section and its Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee, and the ABA's Litigation Section and its Enviromental Litigation Committee.

Mr. Bryan is also a member of the North Carolina Bar Association's Environmental and Natural Resources Law Section (and on its Council 2002-2005) and the Litigation Section.

Published Works:

• "Right to Independent Counsel?", Coverage Magazine, Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee of American Bar Association's Section of Litigation, Vol. 19, No. 3, May/June 2009
• "Umbrella Policies: The Duty to Drop Down", Property Loss Research Bureau/Liability Loss Research Bureau, National Claims Convention, Seattle, March 2009
• Co-Author, Who's Responsible for Financial Responsibility?, Defense Research Institute's Trucking Law Committee, In-Transit, August 2007. The article features a recent NC Court of Appeals decision which held that a liability policy for a commercial vehicle automatically provides minimum of $750,000 of coverage, despite the owner requesting and paying for lesser coverage.
• Co-Author, Amicus Curiae brief in the Supreme Court of North Carolina on behalf of the Trucking Industry Defense Association, North Carolina Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company, Inc., v. Terry Davis Armwood, Jr.; Et al. 
• Co-Author, Amicus Curiae brief on behalf of the Trucking Industry Defense Association in the case, Lamson & Sessions Co. v. ATS Logistics Services, Inc.
• Co-Author, North Carolina Chapter in the Defense Research Institute's Insurance Bad Faith: A Compendium of State Law (2006)
• Contracts and Insurance Protections for Motor Carriers, National Tank Truck Carriers Association, Board of Directors Meeting, August 2004  
• Co-Author, North Carolina Chapter in the American Law Firm Association's A Fifty-State Reference of Significant Case and Statutory Law Related to Life, Accident and Health Insurance Claims and Litigation (2003 Edition)
• Just Exactly Where is That Petroleum Contamination Coming From?, Environmental News, North Carolina Bar Association, 2003  
• Indemnity, Subrogation and Additional Insured Insurance in Transportation Contracts, Annual Meeting, National Tank Truck Carriers Association, April, 2003 
• Brownfields Agreements: A Prospective Developer's Road to Success, Environmental News, Vol. 13, No. 2, March, 2002
• Auto Exclusion in General Liability Insurance Policies, For the Defense, Vol. 43, No. 12, December, 2001
• The Saga Over MTBE Continues, Takes New Turn, Environmental News, Vol. 13, No. 1, December, 2001
• A Lesson in Avoiding Liability on the Internet, BizLife Magazine, March, 2001
• A Practical Guide to Federal Court Rules and Procedures in North Carolina, National Business Institute, June, 2000
• Insurance Coverage Laws in North Carolina, National Business Institute, June, 1996
• Damages Recoverable in Commercial Cases and Their Proof, Commercial Litigation in North Carolina Handbook, Law Practice Handbooks, 1995

• Member, American Bar Association's Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section and its Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee and the ABA's Litigation Section and its Environmental Litigation Committee; Member, Defense Research Institute's Insurance Law, Commercial Litigation, Diversity and Trucking Law Committees; Member, Trucking Industry Defense Association; Member, North Carolina Trucking Association; Member, North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys

• Defended commercial lines insurer for seven years (2002-2009) in bad faith litigation in NC state court involving builders risk insurance, mold infestation, alleged insurance fraud in claim submission, alleged additional insured coverage, construction project failure, Chapter 11 bankruptcy of project owner, SIU investigation, and appeal of discovery dispute over insurer's work product.  Successful in resolving the matter late in discovery phase.
• Successful negotiation of consent decree for Fortune 100 company in underground storage tank case involving soil and groundwater contamination at convenience store gas station next to elementary school.
• Successful in settling double fatality truck accident case for Kodiak truck owner-operator after 7 days of jury trial in NC state court.  
• Successfully obtained defense verdict of no liability for municipality in trip and fall case in NC state court.  
• Successfully obtained defense verdict of no liability for automobile operator in motor vehicle negligence case.
• Successfully defended and obtained dismissal of NC state court action for gas station owner against NC Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources after multiple expert witness depositions revealed lack of merit for claim under NC Oil Pollution & Hazardous Substances Control Act.  
• Successful on insurance company's motion to dismiss the corporate policyholder's insurance coverage action in NC state court on a professional liability E&O policy where claimant made tortious interference with contract claim against policyholder after the expiration of the policy.  
• Successful on insurer's motion to dismiss the insured's insurance coverage/bad faith action in federal court in NC in regards to a credit life insurance policy due to misrepresentation.  
• Successful on motion to compel arbitration on insurance company's behalf in insurance coverage/bad faith action in NC state court concerning commercial crime policy with corporate policyholder.  
• Successfully opposed assertion by corporate insured in NC state court action that the insurance company waived the right to arbitration after filing the first action in New York.  
• Successful on motion to transfer insurance coverage action from NC federal court to Alabama federal court in regards to environmental spill accident.  
• Successful on summary judgment motion for insurance company in insurance coverage case involving construction defect claims, owned property exclusion and trigger rule.  
• Successfully obtained summary judgment for insurer in federal court in NC on grounds that the auto exclusion applied to bar coverage under a CGL policy for a catastrophic truck accident.     
• Successful in obtaining NC Court of Appeals' affirmance of summary judgment entered by trial court for CGL insurer on construction defect claims.  
• Successful in obtaining NC Court of Appeals' affirmance for insurance company in title insurance case concerning adverse possession.

• Wachovia Bank v. Clean River Corporation, 178 N.C. App. 528, 631 S.E.2d 879 (2006)
• Ayers v. Patz, 2002 WL 1901906, N.C.App., Aug. 20, 2002
• Polo Ralph Lauren Corp. v. Gulf Ins. Co., 2001 WL 34000140, 2001 NCBC 3, N.C. Super., Jan. 31, 2001
• Markham v. Nationwide Ins. Co., 125 N.C.App. 443, 481 S.E.2d 349 (1997)
• Hunter v. Newsom, 121 N.C.App. 564, 468 S.E.2d 802 (1996)
• Fidelity National Title Ins. Co. of Tenn. v. Kidd, 99 N.C.App. 737, 394 S.E.2d 225 (1990)

• Jim Bryan Admitted to Practice before U.S. Supreme Court

• "Umbrella Policies: The Duty To Drop Down," 2009 Claims Conference, Property Loss Research Bureau/Liability Insurance Research Bureau, Seattle
• Property Insurance: Covered Causes of Loss and Excluded Perils
  Dominant features of property insurance are the covered causes of loss and the excluded perils. This is true for commercial property policies including builders risk, as well as homeowners policies. These features are the focus of this chapter.
• Amicus Curiae brief in the Supreme Court of North Carolina on behalf of the Trucking Industry Defense Association, North Carolina Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company, Inc., v. Terry Davis Armwood, Jr.; Et al.
• The Excess Insurer Lament: When Is The Primary Layer Exhausted?
• Fourth Circuit Chapter in the Defense Research Institute's Spoliation of Evidence: A Compendium of State and Federal Law - 2006
• North Carolina Chapter in the Defense Research Institute's Unfair Trade Practices: A Compendium of State Law - 2006
• CLIENT ALERT: 2005 Amendment Reduces Risks Associated with Redeveloping Brownfields
  The South Carolina Brownfields Voluntary Cleanup Program now provides additional liability protection for developers of contaminated lands.
• Waiver of Right of Arbitration Upon Participation in Litigation
  An examination of the circumstances under which a party may be found to have waived its right to arbitrate when having already participated in litigation.
• Business Litigation Review - Punitive Damages
  The Business Litigation Review is offered as a service to Nexsen Pruet, PLLC clients and friends. This review covers punitive damages law in North Carolina and in South Carolina.
• "Contracts and Insurance Protections", American Law Firm Association's Transportation Practice Group Seminar, April 2003
• Just Exactly Where is That Petroleum Contamination Coming From?
  Just Exactly Where is That Petroleum Contamination Coming From?, Environmental News, North Carolina Bar Association, 2003
• Brownfields Agreements: A Prospective Developer's Road to Success
  Brownfields Agreements: A Prospective Developer's Road to Success, Environmental News, Vol. 13, No. 2, March, 2002
• Auto Exclusion in General Liability Insurance Policies
• The Saga Over MTBE Continues, Takes New Turn
  The Saga Over MTBE Continues, Takes New Turn, Environmental News, Vol. 13, No. 1, December, 2001
• Self-Insured Retentions
• Nexsen Pruet Insurance Brochure