Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Georgia

SUBJECT: Neighborhood bully

Hello all,

I have what will probably seem like a strange request. Read on if you think you can help, or just want to read a story about my freak-show attorney ex-neighbor.

Up until around 8 months ago, my fiancee and I lived in two separate units in a townhome community in north Atlanta, Georgia. My fiancee's immediate neighbor is a work-at-home attorney (non-trial, fiduciary responsibilities) who is an alcoholic with serious anger management issues. I'll keep his description vague so I can be frank about his behavior.

The short story is that we co-existed with this nutjob for around 4 years before he became irate over dog noise and began threatening my fiancee. I am well aware of his reputation as a bully, and stood up to him by challenging his recent illegal activities (rebuilding his patio as a full outdoor kitchen with no building permits or inspections). We entered a pattern in which I report him for his repeated violations, and he harasses my fiancee (never me; he harasses women, children, and animals). See below for examples of the harassment. After around a year of this, my fiancee was distressed enough that we moved out and bought a home in Cobb County. We have been gone for around 8 months and have had no contact with this guy. Recently, our real estate agent wrote to inform us that the neighbor has twice hijacked her showings of the townhome; he approaches the potential buyers and begins by speaking about how the neighborhood is great, and then leads into saying, "but her unit isn't a good deal, here, I'll show you other units that are a much better deal," and takes the prospects to see other units in the complex. He may be hijacking all showings, not just the ones with our agent.

I have spoken with an attorney, who advised we have basically no options to prevent this specific behavior (he did explain tortious contract interference). I asked if we could get an injunction to prevent the neighbor from approaching anyone entering or leaving the unit (tenants, us, or prospective buyers). The attorney advised, "here's the thing; I don't advise this because it will cost you a lot of money, but he will either represent himself, or another attorney will represent him for free."

This is the rub. This guy has gotten away with a LOT in this neighborhood by bullying and intimidating the neighbors. He has shot a 12-year old kid in the head with a BB gun. He has sexually battered a woman at the condo pool by pinching her nipple in front of her boyfriend. He makes lewd, sexual comments to mothers in front of their children and his family. He physically assaulted his wife, who took the kids and left home for a week. He repeatedly violates all kinds of HOA covenants, city ordinances, and state code. He screws with others' property. He was briefly appointed to the HOA board, but was asked to leave. He weaselled his way out of my complaints to Atlanta Code Enforcement by (I believe) threatening the code enforcement officer. Everyone who knows this guy has stories of dealings with him, but other than HOA fines, he has gotten away with EVERYTHING, and clearly feels empowered.

**Is there any attorney in Atlanta with litigation experience who is willing to help, pro bono?** This guy is giving attorneys everywhere a bad name. He continues to harass my fiancee by blocking sales of her unit, and I fully expect he will continue to abuse neighbors until someone teaches him a serious, legal lesson. As far as I know, I'm the only person who has stood up to him, because everyone gets intimidated by his attorney status. The HOA board has just given up and advised us to call the police.

Here are more examples of his behavior, because I promised a freak show, and plan to deliver a worthy story. I swear all of this is true. One night we returned home (with my 8 year old son) to find him out on his patio, drunk as a skunk, beating metal objects and screaming to incite my fiancee's dogs to bark. He spent the next 2 hours outside yelling about how she is a whore who sleeps with dogs; I had to call 911. On several occasions, he stood on his illegal outdoor kitchen to look into my fiancee's patio area, especially when she was out sunbathing. He has sent his 12-year-old daughter to peek through the fence and spy on my fiancee. He beats his dog with a stick in public. He buried his dead cat on the corner of our property. One day, apparently the day the code enforcement officer visited his unit, he stood outside my fiancee's fence, shaking her bushes and looking at us with wild eyes. He then walked in front of unit, waving his hat and shaking all the bushes. Once, while he was on the board, a homeowner witnessed the guy dumping his George Foreman grill grease tray into the lake, which is on a nature preserve. The homeowner complained to the board, and this guy flipped out, yelled about how the homeowner was a liar, and claimed he was dumping hotdog buns out of the grease tray. We have witnessed this guy throw pinecones at our dogs. He bragged about how his 12-year old daughter tends bar at his parties and keeps track of his liquor stock, telling him when he needs to buy more of something. He kicked in our patio door to "inspect the storm drain." On Halloween one year, he asked a local mom (in front of our children) why her costume made him aroused. She responded without missing a beat, "because you are a pervert." I take it she had already dealt with him. He does most of these things with a glass of vodka in hand.

I could go on and on. This guy is a menace, and is by all appearances an alcoholic sexual predator who compulsively breaks rules to get a thrill. This may sound like hyperbole, but if you knew him, you would understand.

My fiancee and I are in a lovely new home and do not deal with harassment any more, but he may succeed in harming her financially. I am confident he will continue to abuse the neighbors, break the rules, and get away with it, by using his legal training and experience as a bully to intimidate the neighbors into staying silent. That said, I don't think he is a very successful or skilled attorney; he has threatened lawsuits that, upon research, were clearly frivolous and would have been thrown out easily.

I would like an attorney to donate pro bono time to help teach said nutjob he is human and must play by the rules like everyone else. Here are things I would like to accomplish:

1) Fight for an injunction to keep him from approaching anyone on our property. Bring in neighbors to testify, so his misdeeds can become public record.

2) Gain some kind of public reprimand for him. One possibility is to have an Atlanta DA press charges for his misdemeanor code violations, which he has covered up for unknown reasons.

3) Anything else that is appropriate; feel free to make suggestions.

Any takers?

2 Answers from Attorneys

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