Benjamin Davis appeals the trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Wanda Wallace, Mickey M. Bruce, Samuel Patterson and Cruser & Mitchell, LLP sometimes referred to collectively as “Defendants” on his claims of abusive litigation and false imprisonment. He also appeals the trial court’s denial of his motions for reconsideration and default. We affirm for the reasons set forth below. At the pertinent time, Wallace and Bruce were members of the Riverdale city council. Davis was employed by the Riverdale mayor as a photographer and his job duties included videotaping city council meetings. This case arose in connection with two “Petitions for Stalking Temporary Protective Order” filed by Wallace against Davis.1 Wallace filed her first petition on December 9, 2005 based upon information provided by Bruce that on the evening of November 8, 2005, Davis threatened to blow up or set fire to Wallace’s residence. Wallace was not present at the time of these alleged threats, but Bruce called and told her about them. Bruce also reported the threats to the Riverdale police. On November 14, 2005, the investigating officer applied to a Clayton County magistrate for a disorderly conduct warrant against Davis, but the magistrate denied the application. Wallace subsequently accompanied police to the Clayton County solicitor’s office to discuss the incident, which resulted in the solicitor’s chief investigator calling Davis to tell him to stay away from Wallace. He also informed Davis that an investigator would be present at the next city council meeting to ensure that there were no problems. One week later, on November 21, the Riverdale police inactivated their investigation because there was “no indication of any criminal intent involving” Davis.
Nevertheless, on December 2, 2005, a Riverdale police investigator accompanied Wallace to the Superior Court of Douglas County to investigate the possibility of obtaining a restraining order against Davis, which resulted in Wallace’s petition on December 9. That day, the superior court signed a temporary protective order “TPO”, which enjoined Davis from contacting or coming within 100 feet of Wallace and which set a hearing for January 10, 2006. The next day, December 10, 2005, when Davis appeared at a city council meeting with his video equipment, Patterson, Riverdale’s assistant chief of police, showed him the TPO and asked him to leave before the meeting began and before Wallace arrived. At the TPO hearing on January 10, the trial court granted Davis’s motion to dismiss Wallace’s December 9 petition on the ground that the hearing was untimely.2 Wallace was represented by Shalena Cook from the law firm of Cruser & Mitchell, LLP “C&M” at that hearing.
