ZURICH AMERICAN INSURANCE COMPANY v. TOM JAMES COMPANY ET AL. - Articles

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ZURICH AMERICAN INSURANCE COMPANY v. TOM JAMES COMPANY ET AL.

Posted by: Azya Thornton on Jun 3, 2026

Court: TN Court of Appeals

Attorneys 1: William H. Tate, Brentwood, Tennessee, Eileen King Bower, Chicago, Illinois, and Patrick F. Hofer, Washington, D.C., for the appellant, Zurich American Insurance Company.

Attorneys 2: Eric Grant Osborne, Andree S. Blumstein, Brettson Bauer, and Lauren Zehr Curry, Nashville, Tennessee, and George M. Plews and Christopher Kozak, Indianapolis, Indiana, for the appellees, Tom James Company, Tom James Chile, S.A., Crossville Fabric Chile, S.A., English American Tailoring Company, Franklin Clothing Company, Holland and Sherry, Inc., IAG Industrial Center, Inc, Individualized Shirt Company, Oxxford Clothes XX, Inc., The Hancock Company, and The Pickett Company.

Judge(s): BENNETT

This is an interlocutory appeal concerning the scope of a commercial property insurance policy and whether the insured has stated sufficient facts to invoke coverage. The insurer filed a complaint for a declaratory judgment, seeking a declaration that the policy at issue did not provide coverage for the insured’s claimed losses. The insured filed a counterclaim seeking a declaratory judgment that the policy provided coverage and asserting a breach of contract claim. The insurer filed a motion to dismiss and for judgment on the pleadings, which the trial court denied. We granted permission for an interlocutory appeal. After interpreting the policy, we determine that the insured failed to invoke coverage, and we reverse the trial court’s contrary finding. However, we affirm the trial court’s denial of the motion to dismiss, finding that the counterclaim sufficiently stated a claim for a declaratory judgment. Because the pleadings had not closed when the trial court ruled on the motion for judgment on the pleadings, we vacate the order of the trial court and remand for further proceedings.

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