Following Appellant’s involvement in an automobile accident and the subsequent denial of coverage by her insurance company (the Appellee herein), Appellant brought the instant action against Appellee, alleging breach of contract, bad faith refusal to pay, violation of the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act, and intentional misconduct. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the Appellee. Appellant appeals. We conclude that there is a dispute of material fact as to the ownership of the subject vehicle; this dispute of material fact precludes summary judgment.

The Appellant, Ronnie Lee Johnson, appeals the trial court’s summary denial of his petition for a writ of error coram nobis. The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.

Petitioner, Ivan Charles Graves, appeals from the post-conviction court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief, claiming that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel at trial. Petitioner was convicted by a Knox County jury of first degree premeditated murder and felony murder in the perpetration of a kidnapping. The trial court merged Petitioner’s convictions and sentenced Petitioner to life in prison. Following an evidentiary hearing, the post-conviction court denied relief.

Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services and Belmont College of Law will host a “Virtual Legal Advice Clinic” tomorrow at Belmont from noon to 2 p.m. Law students will be paired with local attorneys to answer questions from OnlineTNJustice.org as part of a series clinics hosted by law schools across the state. Contact Samantha Sanchez for more information at ssanchez@las.org or  (888) 395-9297.

The Tennessee Supreme Court unanimously reinstated a jury verdict, finding that a former maintenance employee of Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) suffered unlawful retaliation through the actions of his supervisor. Jim Ferguson, a Japanese-American, argued that shortly after he filed a discrimination lawsuit against MTSU, his supervisor retaliated against him by requiring him to perform tasks outside his medical restrictions, increasing his work assignments and engaging in other retaliatory conduct. A jury rejected Ferguson’s discrimination and malicious harassment claims, but found MTSU had retaliated against him and awarded him damages. The Tennessee Court of Appeals reversed the jury award, but on appeal the Tennessee Supreme Court disagreed. Chief Justice Sharon G. Lee authored the opinion for the court. The Administrative Office of the Courts has more.

The Tennessee Bar Association Mentoring Program is still accepting applications for mentors to join the program for upcoming classes. Mentors should be attorneys with at least eight years of legal practice experience. Volunteers are needed in rural areas of Tennessee including the Gatlinburg and Sevierville areas. For more information please contact TBA Mentoring Program Coordinator Christy Gibson at cgibson@tnbar.org or at (615) 383-7421.

Best-selling author Lawrence Cunningham will visit the University of Tennessee College of Law on Monday to discuss his new book "Berkshire Beyond Buffet: The Enduring Value of Values." Joining Cunningham will be UT Law alumnus Jim Clayton, the founder and former CEO of Clayton Homes Inc., which Berkshire Hathaway acquired in 2003. Clayton established the Clayton Center for Entrepreneurial Law at UT Law. Admission is free and open to the public, but attendees are asked to RSVP to Sophia Brown before Nov. 3. Learn more about the event.

Overweight women are more likely to work in lower-paying and more physically demanding jobs; less likely to get higher-wage positions that include interaction with the public; and make less money in either case compared to average-size women and all men, according to a new Vanderbilt study. From a legal perspective, there has been a lot of discussion on whether an obese individual is considered disabled in regard to the Americans with Disabilities Act. Jennifer Shinall, assistant professor of law at Vanderbilt Law School and author of “Occupational Characteristics and the Obesity Wage Penalty,” suggests that when it comes to discrimination lawsuits, the ADA may not be the correct avenue since obese women are actually filling strenuous physical labor jobs. “What seems to be going on in the labor market may be more of a sex discrimination issue that could be tied to Title VII,” she told Newswise.

The Tennessee Defense Lawyers Association (TDLA) recently installed James H. Tucker Jr. as its 49th president. He is the first African American to hold this position. The association, which represents lawyers engaged in civil defense litigation, also announced new officers for 2014-2015: President-Elect Cate Dugan of Deason & Associates in Nashville; Secretary-Treasurer Barret Albritton of Spears, More, Rebman & Williams in Chattanooga; and Vice President Rocky King of Egerton, McAfee, Armistead & Davis in Knoxville. Immediate past president Bradford D. Box will serve as the new DRI Representative for Tennessee.