Court Opinion

ID: 9931327
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-02-08 19:04:56.087822+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:17:14.174905
License: Public Domain

Court of Appeals
of the State of Georgia

                                        ATLANTA,____________________
                                                 February 08, 2024

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A24A0814. STANLEY KENNETH JOHNSON v. JOHN T. CLOUGH, III.

      This case began as a dispossessory proceeding in magistrate court. After the
magistrate court entered final judgment in favor of the plaintiff, Defendant Stanley
Johnson appealed to the state court, which also ruled in favor of the plaintiff. Johnson
filed a motion to vacate the state court’s decision. The state court denied the motion
and awarded attorney fees to the plaintiff under OCGA § 9-15-14. Johnson then filed
this appeal. The Appellee has filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that we lack
jurisdiction. We agree.
      As the Appellee contends in his motion to dismiss, the trial court’s order was
not subject to direct appeal. An appeal from a state court order disposing of a de novo
appeal from a magistrate court decision must be initiated by filing an application for
discretionary appeal. OCGA § 5-6-35 (a) (11); Strachan v. Meritor Mtg. Corp. East, 216
Ga. App. 82, 82 (453 SE2d 119) (1995). “Compliance with the discretionary appeals
procedure is jurisdictional.” Hair Restoration Specialists v. State of Ga., 360 Ga. App.
901, 903 (862 SE2d 564) (2021) (punctuation omitted). Johnson’s failure to follow the
proper procedure deprives us of jurisdiction over this appeal.
      Moreover, the appeal is untimely. Under OCGA § 44-7-56 (b) (1), appeals in
dispossessory actions must be filed within seven days of the date the judgment was
entered. See Ray M. Wright, Inc. v. Jones, 239 Ga. App. 521, 522-523 (521 SE2d 456)
(1999). Here, the state court entered its order denying Johnson’s motion on
September 20, 2023, and Johnson filed his notice of appeal on October 17, which was
27 days later.
      For both of these reasons, we lack jurisdiction over this appeal. Accordingly, the
motion to dismiss is hereby GRANTED and this appeal is hereby DISMISSED.

                                        Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia
                                          Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________
                                                                      02/08/2024
                                                   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.