A judge has shut down a lawsuit from a company that files bulk dispossessory actions in Fulton County Magistrate Court that was replaced by another bulk filer last year.

Connect2Court, which had contracted with the court to provide bulk filing services from 2012 to 2016, argued that its own filings took a week or more to process after it was replaced by a new contractor, Five Points Solutions, whose filings were processed immediately.

In April, Connect2Court CEO Drew Maggard filed a mandamus action against Chief Magistrate Cassandra Kirk and Superior and Magistrate Court Clerk Tina Robinson, claiming the clerk's office was deliberately delaying dispossessories unless they were filed through FivePoints, which charges $16 per filing for expedited services.

The action, filed by Louis Levenson and George Lott of Levenson & Associates, asked the court to order that dispossessories be filed with 48 hours of receipt, that the office stop accepting what it said are “non-complaint” affidavits filed by Five Points, and to lift a 30-minute per person time limit on the use of the court's bulk-filing kiosk at the courthouse.

The Magistrate Court also allows the public to use free terminals at the courthouse to file dispossessories and other documents without paying the $7 per filing fee charged by the court's e-filing vendor, eFileGA. There is a three-case per person limit on the use of those terminals.

Maggard attempted a workaround earlier this year by hiring homeless people to file three cases each for his clients. Robinson put the kibosh on that scheme by ordering that dispossessories filed through the public terminals could only be processed for “anonymous” accounts.

The Fulton County Superior Court bench recused, and the case was assigned to Clayton County State Court Senior Judge John Carbo III.

On Dec. 11, Carbo ruled that none of Connect2Court's demands were appropriate for a mandamus action.

Regarding the 48-hour turnaround, Carbo noted that court rules only require cases be filed “within a reasonable period after being received” by the clerk.

Robinson's office argued that it was “inadequately staffed” by the Fulton County Commission, and Carbo wrote that he found the argument that her office “does its best,” given the personnel shortage to meet the demands of the rules.

As to Connect2Court's assertion that improper affidavits were being accepted, Carbo wrote that the staff clerks “do not have the duty to go behind an apparently valid dispossessory affidavit to determine whether it was validly executed.”

Finally, he said, Connect2Court failed to prove that the 30-minute limit for bulk filers at the courthouse kiosk does not “rise to the level of failing to meet her duties. Specifically, the court finds that, due to the large volume of case filings in the Fulton County Magistrate Court, the guidelines specified by Judge Kirk's order are not unreasonable.”

Maggard said Friday that he will appeal Carbo's ruling.

“It is too bad the people of Fulton County have to file a mandamus just to get the Fulton Magistrate Judge and Clerk of Court to do their job,” said Maggard via email.

Kirk said the defeated action “did not alter our business practices.”

“The Court will continue to make every effort to provide citizens with the level of services they deserve,” Kirk said in an email. “Our bulk file vendor enables us to streamline the dispossessory process and this is crucial given the resources afforded to Magistrate Court. We are grateful for the rigorous defense provided by the Fulton County Attorney's Office.”