Adam Poole v. Jamisa Poole

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: June 14, 2023
• Docket: A23D0337
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ June 14, 2023

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A23D0337. ADAM POOLE v. JAMISA POOLE.

Adam Poole (the “Father”) and Jamisa Poole (the “Mother”) were divorced in 2017. Two children were born during the parties’ marriage. The Father subsequently filed a request to modify child support and a motion to change custody and/or suspend the Mother’s visitation with the children, which the trial court denied in a March 2021 interlocutory order. In December 2021, the trial court entered a “final order,” which, among other things, incorporated the March 2021 order’s findings. The Father moved to set aside the December 2021 order, directly challenging the trial court’s custody and child support rulings. Thereafter, in April 2023, the trial court denied the Father’s motion to set aside and awarded attorney fees to the Mother under OCGA § 9-15-14. The Father then filed this application for discretionary appeal, seeking to challenge the trial court’s rulings on custody, child support, and attorney fees. Under OCGA § 5-6-34 (a) (11), “[a]ll judgments or orders in child custody cases awarding, refusing to change, or modifying child custody” are directly appealable. See Lacy v. Lacy, 320 Ga. App. 739, 742 (3) (740 SE2d 695) (2013). Because the Father directly challenges the trial court’s substantive ruling on custody, it is subject to direct appeal. See Voyles v. Voyles, 301 Ga. 44, 46-47 (799 SE2d 160) (2017) (explaining that appellate courts look to the issue raised on appeal to determine whether a party is entitled to a direct appeal). We will grant a timely application for discretionary appeal if the lower court’s order is subject to direct appeal. See OCGA § 5-6-35 (j). Accordingly, this application is hereby GRANTED. The Father shall have ten days from the date of this order to file a notice of appeal if he has not already done so. The clerk of the superior court is DIRECTED to include a copy of this order in the appeal record transmitted to this Court.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 06/14/2023 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.