Appellant Shiva Management, LLC “Shiva” appeals from the trial court’s issuance of an interlocutory injunction prohibiting Shiva from proceeding with a non-judicial foreclosure on certain property owned in part by appellee Joe D. Walker. For the reasons that follow, we find that the trial court abused its discretion in granting the injunction, and we therefore reverse. The property at issue is a parcel spanning two lots located on Bouldercrest Drive in DeKalb County the “Property”. At the time of the relevant transactions, the Property was owned solely by Linda M. Jackson,1 a companion of Walker, though it appears that Walker was and still is residing on the Property. In June 2003, Shiva, a real estate investment firm, agreed to make a $7,000 loan to Jackson, memorialized in a promissory note and secured by a deed to secure debt under which Shiva was granted a second position security interest in the Property. The loan balance, including the principal plus seven percent annual interest, was to be paid in full on or before June 23, 2004. In the event of default on the loan, the security deed grants Shiva an “irrevocable power of attorney to sell the said property at auction” in accordance with certain specifications as to time, place, and manner. Apparently in connection with the loan transaction, Jackson and Walker entered into a sales contract with William Gottlieb, Shiva’s sole owner, agreeing to sell the Property to Gottlieb for $170,000 on or before June 23, 2004.2 The sales contract states that “time is of the essence” and affords Gottlieb the right of specific performance.3
The loan was not satisfied, nor was the sale of the Property closed, by June 23, 2004. In August 2004, Jackson quitclaimed a 50 percent interest in the Property to Walker. In September 2004, Shiva recorded in the DeKalb County real estate records a document entitled “Affidavit —Notice of Contract/Claim of Beneficial Interest Lien,” in which Shiva claimed a lien on the Property by virtue of the unsatisfied sales contract, particularly its specific performance clause.4 In April 2006, Jackson executed a general power of attorney authorizing Walker to handle certain of her personal financial affairs, including real estate transactions.
