Court Opinion

ID: 9585729
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 23:03:19.007335+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:23:08.807624
License: Public Domain

Birdsong, Chief Judge,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent from Division 1 of the majority opinion. I cannot agree with the conclusion that “[t]he asserted defect in the notice of appeal in this case does not cause the appeal to fall into any of’ the three bases for dismissal of an appeal under OCGA § 5-6-48 (b). Specifically, I would find that the appeal is untimely.
1. The notice of appeal states: “Notice is hereby given that the Plaintiff hereby appeals to the Court of Appeals from the Orders of the Trial Court entered in the case on 4/8/86, 6/10/86 and 11/10/86.” I am of the opinion that this appeal is from those three orders — all of which are interlocutory in nature. The majority is of the opinion that this appeal is not from the listed interlocutory orders but from the final judgment of “11/12/86.”
The majority finds OCGA § 5-6-48 (b) prohibits dismissal of this appeal because we may dismiss only: “(1) For failure to file [a] notice of appeal within the time required as provided in this article or within any extension of time granted hereunder; (2) Where the decision or judgment is not then appealable; or (3) Where the questions presented have become moot.” The first basis is applicable here. Appeal is taken specifically from the trial court’s decision on three interlocutory orders. Such appeal must be made within 10 days (OCGA § 5-6-34 (b)), or can be made in conjunction with an appeal from a final judgment. Southeast Ceramics v. Klem, 246 Ga. 294 (1) (271 SE2d 199). No appeal was taken from the final judgment, thus the direct appeal taken in this case was not within the statutory time and not in conjunction with an appeal from the final judgment — hence, was untimely.
2. Our Code requires that “[t]he notice [of appeal] shall set forth ... a concise statement of the judgment, ruling, or order entitling the appellant to take an appeal. . . .” OCGA § 5-6-37. I would find that *551the appellant has “set forth ... a concise statement of the judgment, ruling, or order entitling [him] to take an appeal. . . .’’He specifically appealed from the trial court’s ruling on the listed interlocutory orders. I have no disagreement with the majority that “[w]here it is apparent from the notice of appeal, the record, the enumeration of errors, or any combination of the foregoing, what judgment or judgments were appealed from or what errors are sought to be asserted upon appeal, the appeal should be considered in accordance therewith. . . .” OCGA § 5-6-48 (f). I find that the appellant has stated very clearly what order is being appealed — the notice specified only the orders of “the Trial Court entered in the case on 4/8/86, 6/10/86 and 11/10/86.” Those rulings were on interlocutory matters — and were not final judgments. The enumeration of error is just as clear. Appellant alleged: “The Trial Court erred, and abused its discretion, by granting Defendant’s Motion for Protective Order (R-87, 88) [the order of “11/10/86”] refusing to permit discovery by the Plaintiff of all documents within Defendant’s possession regarding the claims of Plaintiff. ...” Thus, appellant abandoned its claim of error as the interlocutory orders of “4/8/86” and “6/10/86” and enumerated error only as to the interlocutory order of “11/10/86” denying discovery. Appellant’s brief is equally precise and clear. It summarizes its contentions: “The issue before this Honorable Court being whether the Trial Court erred in granting Defendant’s Motion for Protective Order and in refusing to grant Plaintiff/Appellant discovery of the Defendant/Appellant’s files.” In summary, because appellant specifically appealed only from decisions on three interlocutory orders, enumerated error as to only one interlocutory order, and in the brief argued only the ruling of one interlocutory order, I cannot agree with the majority that this appeal “was in fact taken from the final judgment entered on November 23, 1987. . . .”
3. Of course, “final judgment” was mentioned in the notice of appeal: “Final Judgment was entered in the case on 11/12/87.” This poses the question of whether this singular reference to a “final judgment” is sufficient t’o signify this appeal is from the final judgment. Does the mere mention of “final judgment” negate the otherwise definite statement of appellant that this appeal is from the three listed orders and infuse life into those otherwise dormant rulings on which time has expired to appeal? I would follow the case precedent of this Court and the Supreme Court in making this decision.
Similar references to final judgment in a notice of appeal have not sufficed to show compliance with appellate procedural statutes. In Interstate Fire Ins. Co. v. Chattam, 222 Ga. 436 (150 SE2d 618), the Court of Appeals had certified a question to the Supreme Court on the sufficiency of a notice of appeal, and we were instructed: “Indeed, this court held in Gibson v. Hodges, 221 Ga. 779 (147 SE2d 329), that *552an appeal was fatally defective when it failed to designate ‘any appealable judgment or order as the ruling that entitled the appellant to take an appeal.’ The Court of Appeals can not know the appellant’s intent other than he expressed it when he said the appeal was from a verdict •. . . With all the court’s sympathy for lawyers and litigants, it can not constitutionally provide the procedure of appeals nor engage in the practice of law by directing the judgments or orders on appeal when the appellant has not chosen to appeal therefrom. Where there is only an appeal from a jury verdict, there is nothing to review, and the Court of Appeals has no jurisdiction. . . .”
The Supreme Court followed the above decision with Williams v. Keebler, 222 Ga. 437 (150 SE2d 674), in which an appeal was taken “from the verdict entered in said action on February 19, 1965. Motion to set aside the verdict and judgment was filed and overruled on November 6, 1965.” The facts in Williams are very similar to those in the instant appeal in which the appeal is taken “from” three listed interlocutory orders and the notice parenthetically cites that judgment was entered at a later date. In Williams, supra, the Supreme Court held that a verdict was not an appealable judgment and “the mere mention in the notice of appeal of the judgment overruling the motion to set aside the verdict and judgment does not constitute an appeal from a final judgment so as to satisfy the requirements of the Appellate Practice Act. The omission in the notice of appeal to designate any appealable judgment or order as the ruling that entitles the appellant to take the appeal is fatal.” Id. at 438. A later decision, Davis v. Davis, 224 Ga. 740 (164 SE2d 816) tracks Williams, supra, in which it was held: “Since the appeal was taken from the verdict and from a ruling which was not an appealable judgment, the mere mention in the notice of appeal of the judgment overruling the motion for new trial ‘does not constitute an appeal from a final judgment so as to satisfy the requirements of the Appellate Practice Act.” Id. at 741.
Rulings of this Court are consistent with those of the Supreme Court. In Ruth v. Kennedy, 117 Ga. App. 632 (161 SE2d 410), we held that where the “notice of appeal recites that the plaintiff ‘hereby appeals to the Court of Appeals from the order entered on her motion to purge the jury’ and that thereafter the case proceeded to verdict and final judgment” that “[t]he fact that an appealable judgment is shown to exist, or that the antecedent ruling on the motion to purge the jury would be reviewable when enumerated as error on the proper designation of an appealable judgment, does not cure the fatal defect in the notice of appeal arising from the failure to appeal from such a judgment.” We reached the same conclusion in Teppenpaw v. Blalock, 121 Ga. App. 320, 321 (2) (173 SE2d 442), aff’d 226 Ga. 619, in which the appeal was “ ‘from the verdict of the Clarke Superior Court . . . wherein the Judge . . . directed a verdict in favor of the defend*553ant and against the plaintiff . . . [and] said directed verdict was made the judgment of the court on October 22, 1969.’ ” This Court held: “Since the appeal is ‘from the verdict,’ the mere recital that the directed verdict was made the judgment of the court ‘does not constitute an appeal from a final judgment so as to satisfy the requirements of the Appellate Practice Act.’ ”
Decided December 5, 1988.
Robert W. Raleigh, for appellant.
William L. Spearman, for appellee.
The instant notice of appeal is so similar to the cases cited above that they are controlling as to the result we should reach. As long as these controlling precedents are extant, then this Court should follow them, distinguish them, or overrule them. The bench and bar should not be forced to elect which line of conflicting cases they should follow. See also: Martin v. Farrington, 179 Ga. App. 227 (346 SE2d 5); Newman v. Steinberg, 133 Ga. App. 824 (212 SE2d 479).
Accordingly, since the notice of appeal, enumeration of errors, and brief of counsel, specifically, with certainty and with definiteness, designate an appeal only from interlocutory orders, and did not appeal from the final judgment, the appeal is untimely and we should follow the many precedents of this Court and the Supreme Court which require dismissal of the appeal. Therefore, I respectfully dissent to Division 1 of the majority opinion.
I am authorized to state that Presiding Judge McMurray, Judge Sognier and Judge Pope join in this dissent.