Court of Appeals

of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A22A0386. DONNA MICHELLE NELSON et al. v. GLORIA CAYE VICTOR,

IN HER OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS ADMINISTRATOR OF THE

ESTATE OF SIDNEY R. JONES.

Gloria Victor, administrator of the estate of Sidney R. Jones, filed a five-count

complaint against Donna Nelson and three other defendants, arising out of Nelson’s

occupying Jones’s home following his death and Nelson’s attempts to transfer

ownership of the home and other property of Jones’s to herself. The complaint

included claims for injunctive relief (Count 1), declaratory relief (Count 2), writ of

possession, including a claim for rent (Count 3), conversion (Count 4), and litigation

expenses (Count 5).

Following the defendants’failure to respond to interrogatories and complywith

the court’s discovery order, the court entered an order on March 26, 2021, granting

the plaintiff’smotion to strike the defendants’ pleadings pursuant to OCGA § 9-11-37

(d) (1), entering default judgment against the defendants, and awarding discoveryrelated expenses and attorney fees to the plaintiff. The order instructed the plaintiff

to submit an itemization of expenses and fees, which she did, and the defendants

objected.

A hearing was held on the application for expenses and attorney fees and other

matters. Following the hearing, on June 9, 2021, the court entered (1) an order

awarding attorney feesto the plaintiff for discovery-related expenses, and (2) a “final

judgment granting permanent injunction, declaratory judgment, and writ of

possession,” in which the court stated, among other things, that, in accordance with

the March 26 order, the defendants are restrained and enjoined from various actions.

March 10, 2022
Neither June 9 order addressed the plaintiff’s claim for rent in Count 3; Count 4, the

conversion claim; or Count 5, the claimfor litigation expensesfor the entire case. The

defendants filed a direct appeal from the March 26 order and the two June 9 orders.

We lack jurisdiction. “In a case involving multiple parties or multiple claims,

a decision adjudicating fewer than all the claims or the rights and liabilities of less

than all the parties is not a final judgment.” (Punctuation and citation omitted.)

Johnson v. Hosp. Corp. of America, 192 Ga. App. 628, 629 (385 SE2d 731) (1989).

In such circumstances, there must be either an express determination under OCGA

§ 9-11-54 (b) or compliance with the interlocutory appeal requirements of OCGA §

5-6-34 (b). Id. If neither of these code sections is followed, the appeal is premature

and must be dismissed. Id.

Here, the orders the defendants seek to challenge are not final. The March 26

order was a default judgment as to liability, but not as to damages. The court left

pending the amount of damages in Counts 3, 4, and 5, which renders the order

interlocutory. See OCGA § 9-11-55 (a); Neal v. State, 182 Ga. App. 37 (354 SE2d

664) (1987). Similarly, the June 9 “final judgment” reiterated liability as to Counts

1, 2, and 3, but did not address the rent claim of Count 3 or Counts 4 or 5 at all.

Likewise, the defendants were required to follow the interlocutory appeal procedures

to appeal the June 9 attorney fee award. See Eidson v. Croutch, 337 Ga. App. 542,

543-545 (788 SE2d 129) (2016) (where attorney fees order is issued prior to final

judgment, party seeking appellate review must follow interlocutory appeal

procedures).

In the absence of an express determination under OCGA § 9-11-54 (b) or

compliance with the interlocutory appeal procedures, we lack jurisdiction over this

appeal from the trial court’s nonfinal orders. Accordingly, this appeal is hereby

DISMISSED.
Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________

I certify that the above is a true extract from

the minutes of the Court of Appeals of Georgia.

Witness my signature and the seal of said court

hereto affixed the day and year last above written.

, Clerk.

03/10/2022