Slone v. Myers

The trial court erred in awarding attorneys' fees under O.C.G.A. § 9-15-14 b in the absence of evidentiary hearing.

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In three related appeals, Debra Slone and Sonja Ebron, acting pro se, appeal the dismissal of their complaint against various parties who were involved in a dispossessory action against them, the award of attorney fees under OCGA § 9-15-14, and the denial of their subsequent application for injunctive relief. For reasons that follow, we affirm in part and vacate in part. On August 16, 2005, A & E Real Estate Sales and Management, Inc. “A & E” brought a dispossessory action against Slone and Ebron the “dispossessory action”. William West served as counsel for A & E. Slone and Ebron filed an answer and counterclaim, arguing that they had paid their rent and that the property owner and A & E “maliciously used and abused the legal process.” The magistrate court entered judgment for A & E and granted it a writ of possession; it found against Slone and Ebron on their counterclaim, stating that “no evidence” had been presented.

Slone and Ebron appealed to the Superior Court of Clayton County in September 2005 the “second action”. By December 2005, they had vacated the property, surrendering their claims to occupancy but maintaining all their other claims. In July 2006, Slone and Ebron sought to add CSS Services, Inc. “CSS”, West, and “John Does 1-10″ as defendants in the action.1 On September 12, 2006, the superior court dismissed the case for failure to join the owner of the property as an indispensable party after being given the opportunity to do so, and did not allow them to add any other defendants. On November 28, 2006, the superior court awarded West $4,200 in attorney fees under OCGA § 9-15-14, finding “a complete absence of any justiciable issue of law or fact” as to the claim Slone and Ebron sought to bring against West and determining that the claim “was substantially groundless and was interposed for harassment and delay.”

Slone v. Myers

The trial court erred in awarding attorneys' fees under O.C.G.A. § 9-15-14 b in the absence of evidentiary hearing.

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