Abel & Sons Concrete, LLC v. Joyce Juhnke

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: September 13, 2013
• Docket: A14A0056
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,__________________ September 13, 2013

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A14A0056. ABEL & SONS CONCRETE, LLC et al. v. JOYCE JUNKHE et al.

Joyce Junkhe sued Dollar Concrete Construction Company and Abel & Sons Concrete, LLC and Abel Ramirez for conversion and other claims. The parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment, which the trial court denied. In its order, the court noted that the only remaining issue in the case is whether certain personal property being stored by Dollar is owned by Junke or the Abel entities. Pending resolution of the ownership question, the trial court ordered Dollar to relinquish the property so that Junkhe and the Abel entities can arrange for its storage elsewhere. Following entry of that order, the Abel entities appealed directly to this Court. They argue that the portion of the trial court’s order concerning the relocation of the property is a preliminary injunction that is directly appealable under OCGA § 5-6-34 (a) (4). The Georgia Constitution grants the Supreme Court general appellate jurisdiction over “all equity cases.” Ga. Const. of 1983, Art. VI, Sec. VI, Par. III (2). “‘[E]quity cases’ are those in which a substantive issue on appeal involves the legality or propriety of equitable relief sought in the superior court – whether that relief was granted or denied.” Beauchamp v. Knight, 261 Ga. 608, 609 (2) (409 SE2d 208) (1991). Here, the issue on appeal appears to center on the legality and propriety of the affirmative injunction ordered by the trial court. See Glynn County v. Waters, 268 Ga. 500, 501 (1) (491 SE2d 370) (1997). Moreover, it is well-settled that the ultimate responsibility for determining appellate jurisdiction is vested in the Supreme Court. See Saxton v. Coastal Dialysis & Medical Clinic, Inc., 267 Ga. 177, 178 (476 SE2d 587) (1996). Accordingly, this appeal is hereby TRANSFERRED to the Supreme Court for disposition.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia 09/13/2013 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.