Tahamtan v. Chase Manhattan Mortgage Corp.

The trial court did not abuse its discretion in concluding that plaintiff's suit for wrongful failure to cancel a security deed lacked substantial justification since the record showed that plaintiff knew that the bank had good faith belief that the debt had not been paid when he filed suit.

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Amir A. Tahamtan appeals from an order of the Fulton County Superior Court awarding attorney fees pursuant to OCGA § 9-15-14 b to Chase Manhattan Mortgage Corp. and further ordering that he be barred from filing further suits in the Atlanta Judicial Circuit until he satisfies the judgment for attorney fees. Because the record supports the attorney fee award and the limitation on further suits, and we find no abuse of discretion by the trial court, we affirm.

The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of Chase Manhattan on a pro se suit brought by Tahamtan alleging that Chase Manhattan wrongfully failed to cancel a security deed in violation of OCGA § 44-14-3, and defrauded, defamed, and intentionally inflicted emotional distress on him. After the grant of summary judgment, Chase Manhattan moved for the award of attorney fees under OCGA § 9-15-14. The trial court granted the motion finding that the suit lacked substantial justification and awarded attorney fees in the amount of $29,311.79 pursuant to § 9-15-14 b. In support of the motion, Chase Manhattan also produced evidence that Tahamtan had engaged over a period of years in a pattern of filing frivolous pro se litigation, including suits against financial institutions with allegations similar to those contained in the present suit. Evidence was produced showing dozens of pro se suits filed by Tahamtan in Fulton County and other local courts, a number of which showed frivolous allegations on their face and which had been dismissed. In an effort to prevent Tahamtan from filing frivolous suits in the future, the Fulton Superior Court further ordered that Tahamtan be barred from filing any further suits in the Atlanta Judicial Circuit unless he first satisfies the judgment for attorney fees in the present case and files of record an affidavit of the Clerk of Court that said judgment has been satisfied.

Tahamtan v. Chase Manhattan Mortgage Corp.

The trial court did not abuse its discretion in concluding that plaintiff's suit for wrongful failure to cancel a security deed lacked substantial justification since the record showed that plaintiff knew that the bank had good faith belief that the debt had not been paid when he filed suit.

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