More details from Peachtree-Pine court ruling

Much was discussed in last Friday's Fulton Superior Court hearing in re the matter of Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless vs. the World that didn't make it into my hurriedly written blog post, so I'd like to add some perspective to what was decided.

First, what didn't happen: Judge Craig Schwall made no ruling on the Task Force's claims that local business leaders, city officials and even Emory University conspired improperly to strip the shelter of its public and private funding. Task Force attorney Steve Hall repeatedly tried to introduce the conspiracy evidence, only to have the judge tell him the hearing was devoted solely to the question of why the 100,000-square-foot building shouldn't be handed over to its owner, an outfit called Premium Funding Solutions.

Schwall announced his ruling would be based on the answers to two questions:

• Would the Task Force suffer irreparable harm, with no remedies at law, if forced to leave the shelter?

• Would the homeless men living at Peachtree-Pine be harmed if the Task Force was ousted?

Early in the hearing, Hall said his clients planned to sue the accused conspirators for $24 million(!) for participating in "tortious interference" in the shelter's business operations. Well, that certainly answered the first question as far as Schwall was concerned: If the Task Force is entitled to $24M in damages — a remedy at law if ever there was one — then it certainly couldn't claim irreparable harm, he said. Personally, I wouldn't mind a little of that kind of harm.

As to whether the homeless would be demonstrably worse off if another services provider — the United Way, in this case — were to step in, Hall had little ammunition to convince the judge that Anita Beaty must remain in control of the shelter.