Controversial homeless shelter wins court ruling
The Georgia Supreme Court on Monday allowed the Metro Task Force for the Homeless to continue its legal fight to take back possession of its Midtown shelter.
In a unanimous decision, the state high court allowed
the Task Force the right to have a jury decide whether the foreclosure sale of its shelter at the corner of Peachtree and Pine streets was illegal.
The Supreme Court also is allowing a jury to decide whether business leaders conspired to interfere with the Task Force's relationships with its donors and the city of Atlanta to deprive the shelter the public funding it needed to stay afloat.
A number of people and organizations have long tried to get the Task Force evicted from its building, claiming the shelter is merely "warehousing" homeless people.
The case now returns to Fulton County Superior Court for a trial on the issues the state Supreme Court allowed to be heard by a jury.
About the Author
Bill Rankin has been an AJC reporter for more than 30 years. His father, Jim Rankin, worked as an editor for the newspaper for 26 years, retiring in 1986. Bill has primarily covered the state’s court system, doing all he can do to keep the scales of justice on an even keel. Since 2015, he has been the host of the newspaper’s Breakdown podcast.
