Anthony P. Brown, Jr. v. Avis Rent a Car System LLC

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: July 18, 2025
• Docket: A25A2170
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ July 18, 2025

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A25A2170. ANTHONY P. BROWN, JR. v. AVIS RENT A CAR SYSTEM LLC.

In this civil action, the trial court entered a default judgment as to liability against defendant Anthony Brown, Jr., and subsequently granted the plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment as to damages. Brown then filed a motion to set aside the judgment under OCGA § 9-11-60 (d) (3). The trial court denied the motion, and Brown filed this direct appeal. We lack jurisdiction. “[T]he denial of a motion to set aside a final judgment under OCGA § 9-11-60 is not directly appealable and instead requires the filing of an application for discretionary appeal under OCGA § 5-6-35 (b).” Jim Ellis Atlanta, Inc. v. Adamson, 283 Ga. App. 116, 116 (640 SE2d 688) (2006); see OCGA § 5-6-35 (a) (8), (b). “Compliance with the discretionary appeals procedure is jurisdictional.” Smoak v. Dept. of Human Resources, 221 Ga. App. 257, 257 (471 SE2d 60) (1996). Pretermitting whether this appeal suffers from other jurisdictional defects, Brown’s failure to comply with the discretionary review procedure deprives us of jurisdiction over this direct appeal, which is hereby DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 07/18/2025 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.