Court of Appeals

of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A18A1720. PRESTIGE NISSAN, INC. et al. v. AMERICAN BANKING

COMPANY d/b/a AMERIS BANK.

Plaintiffs Prestige Nissan, Inc., M. Craig Hornsby, and Colby Hornsby filed

suit against defendant AmericanBankingCompany d/b/a Ameris Bank. Ameris Bank

answered and counterclaimed for expenses of litigation and attorney fees under 

OCGA §§ 13-6-11 and 9-15-14. After the plaintiffs failed to respond to discovery or

comply with the trial court’s order compelling discovery, Ameris Bank sought

sanctions under OCGA § 9-11-37. In its motion for sanctions, Ameris Bank asked the

trial court to strike the plaintiffs’ complaint and dismiss their action with prejudice,

hold the plaintiffs in contempt, and award attorney fees. The trial court granted

Ameris Bank’s motion for sanctions and dismissed the plaintiffs’ complaint with

prejudice. The plaintiffs then filed this direct appeal.

1

 We lack jurisdiction.

“In a case involvingmultiple parties or multiple claims, a decision adjudicating

1

Initially, the plaintiffs appealed from the trial court’s order granting Ameris

Bank’s motion for sanctions and dismissing the plaintiffs’ complaint and from the

trial court’s orderstriking the plaintiffs’ previously filed notice of voluntary dismissal

in Case No. A18A0234. The trial court, however, subsequently dismissed the appeal

as to Prestige, and the plaintiffs thereafter filed an appeal from the trial court’s

dismissal order in Case No. A18A0204. This Court dismissed the appeal in Case No.

A18A0204 as to M. Craig Hornsby and Colby Hornsby. See Case No. A18A0204

(September 19, 2017) and then entered an order in both appeals remanding the case

to the trial court to complete the record. See Case Nos. A18A0204/A18A0234

(November 2, 2017). Upon completion of the record below, the action was reinstated

as the instant appeal. 

January 30, 2019
fewer than all the claims or the rights and liabilities of less than all the parties is not

a final judgment.” Johnson v. Hosp. Corp. of America, 192 Ga. App. 628, 629 (385

SE2d 731) (1989) (citation and punctuation omitted). Although the trial court

dismissed the plaintiffs’ complaint, Ameris Bank’s counterclaims have not been

adjudicated and apparently remain pending.

2 Therefore, the challenged order is not

a final order, and it is appealable only through the interlocutory appeal procedure –

including obtaining a certificate of immediate review from the trial court. See OCGA

§ 5-6-34 (b); CitiFinancial Svcs. v. Holland, 310 Ga. App. 480, 481 (713 SE2d 678)

(2011) (dismissing appeal for failure to comply with interlocutory appeal procedure

when trial court did not rule on plaintiff’s “claim for attorney fees and costs”); see

also Sotter v. Stephens, 291 Ga. 79, 84 (727 SE2d 484) (2012) (holding that case was

still pending below when trial court reserved the issue of fees under OCGA § 13-6-

11). The plaintiffs’failure to complywith the interlocutory appeal procedure deprives

us of jurisdiction over this appeal, which 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.

2 At the hearing on Ameris Bank’s motion for sanctions, the trial court stated

that it would not impose any “monetary sanctions,” but it failed to memorialize this

pronouncement in its subsequent written order, and thus the court’s oral statement is

not binding. Williams v. Williams, 295 Ga. 113, 114 (1) (757 SE2d 859) (2014).

01/30/2019