Fein v. Bessen

Attorney lacked standing to compel a judge to rule on default motions and to enter a final judgment in the action pending before her, and the trial court properly dismissed his mandamus petition.

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This is an appeal by out-of-state attorney Frederick J. Fein from a final order of the Superior Court of Fulton County granting the motion of Diane E. Bessen, a judge of the State Court of Fulton County, to dismiss Fein’s Amended Petition for Writ of Mandamus for failure to state a claim. The mandamus petition, as amended, sought to compel Judge Bessen to rule on default motions and to enter a final judgment in a civil action pending before her so that Fein might pursue his alleged clear legal right to appeal Judge Bessen’s revocation of his pro hac vice admission in that action. For the reasons which follow, we affirm the dismissal.

Some history of the litigation is necessary. Florida attorney Fein was admitted pro hac vice to represent Continental Tire the Americas, LLC CTA, one of multiple defendants in Chenault et al. v. Continental AG et al., Civil Action No. 12EV016009J, a personal injury suit arising from a single-vehicle automobile collision. The Chenault plaintiffs contended that a tread separation on a tire designed, manufactured, and sold by CTA caused the mishap. Four additional defendants were named: Continental AG Continental AG, who was never served, General Tire International Company General Tire, Brown Tire Services Brown Tire, and General Motors Corporation GMC. On October 3, 2013, Judge Bessen issued an order Order finding that Fein violated the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct in that during an unrecorded telephone conference regarding discovery matters, Fein made statements deliberately calculated to cause opposing counsel and the court to infer something that was not true in order to gain advantage for his client. Judge Bessen declined to revoke Fein’s pro hac vice status, but designated local counsel as lead counsel for CTA and directed Fein not to prepare or file pleadings, contact the court or its staff, or present argument or evidence at future court proceedings. However, Fein was permitted to attend future proceedings, confer with his client and local counsel, and sit at counsel table during court.

Fein v. Bessen

Attorney lacked standing to compel a judge to rule on default motions and to enter a final judgment in the action pending before her, and the trial court properly dismissed his mandamus petition.

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