Court Opinion

ID: 9624711
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 07:14:28.622632+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:05:53.289282
License: Public Domain

Eberhardt, Judge,
dissenting. In my view of the matter the Supreme Court has construed the provisions of Art. VI, Sec. II, Par. V, of the Constitution (Code Ann. § 2-3705) wherein it is provided that "No writ of error shall be dismissed because of delay in transmission of the bill of exceptions and the copy of the record, or either of them, resulting from the default of the clerk or other cause, unless it shall appear that the plaintiff in error or his counsel caused such delay,” applying the provision to appeals under the Appellate Practice Act and holding that delay occasioned by appellant’s failure to pay the costs to the trial clerk is ground for dismissal. George v. American Credit Control, Inc., 222 Ga. 512 (150 SE2d 683); Elliott v. Leathers, 223 Ga. 497 (156 SE2d 440); *867Vezzani v. Vezzani, 222 Ga. 853 (153 SE2d 161); Mutual Federal S. & L. Assn. v. Johnson, 223 Ga. 811 (158 SE2d 762); Pippins v. Securities Investment Co., 223 Ga. 812 (158 SE2d 675).
The Act of 1968, amending the Appellate Practice Act (Ga. L. 1968, pp. 1072, 1074; Code Ann. § 6-809 (b)), has been considered and construed in connection with the provision of the Constitution, with the holding that delay in payment of costs resulting in delay of transmission to the appellate court remains a ground for dismissal of the appeal. Thus a delay of 9 days resulted in dismissal in U-Haul Co. v. A Trailer & Truck Rentals, 225 Ga. 195 (167 SE2d 135); of 15 days in Kilgo v. Cochran, 225 Ga. 477 (169 SE2d 818), and of 4 days in Jacobs v. Shiver,1 226 Ga. 284 (174 SE2d 415).
The decisions of the Supreme Court are binding upon this and all other courts of this State. Art. VI., Sec. II., Par. VIII (Code Ann. § 2-3708) of the Constitution. Holmes v. Southern R. Co., 145 Ga. 172 (1) (88 SE 924, AC 1918D 1182). We have no power or authority to make a different interpretation of the Constitution or of the statutory provisions, but are bound to apply that which has been made by the Supreme Court. Since that Court has held a delay of four days beyond the time allowed by the statute of transmission by reason of the failure of appellant to pay the costs to the clerk of the trial court to be ground for dismissal of the appeal, I do not see how we can deny this motion when the record discloses a delay of 13 days beyond the statutory period. We may disagree with the Supreme Court as to whether its interpretation is the correct one, but we are not at liberty to fashion another, however logical we may deem it to be, and apply it instead. If the interpretation of the Supreme Court is wrong, the remedy is to obtain a reconsideration of the question in that court by certiorari, or by Constitutional and statutory amendment.

Ascertained from an examination of the original record.