Ayan Ratliff v. 2245 Interstate N Pkwy West Owner LLC Dba District at Windy

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: May 5, 2025
• Docket: A25D0351
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ May 05, 2025

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A25D0351. AYAN RATLIFF v. 2245 INTERSTATE N PKWY WEST OWNER LLC DBA DISTRICT AT WINDY.

On March 7, 2025, the Cobb County Magistrate Court granted a writ of possession to and issued a judgment in favor of plaintiff Interstate N Pkwy West Owner LLC d/b/a District at Windy. On April 11, 2025, the magistrate court entered an order denying a motion to stay filed by one or more defendants. Defendant Ayan Ratliff filed this application for discretionary review on April 14, 2025, seeking leave to appeal the March 7 magistrate court order. We lack jurisdiction. Ordinarily, “the only avenue of appeal available from a magistrate court judgment is provided by OCGA § 15-10-41 (b) (1), which allows for a de novo appeal to the state or superior court.” Tate v. Habif, 367 Ga. App. 435, 438-439 (2) (886 SE2d 389) (2023) (citation and punctuation omitted). Thus, this Court has jurisdiction to address a magistrate court order only if the order has been reviewed by a state or superior court. See Westwind Corp. v. Washington Fed. S & L Assn., 195 Ga. App. 411, 411 (1) (393 SE2d 479) (1990); Baker v. G. T., Ltd., 194 Ga. App. 450, 451 (3) (391 SE2d 1) (1990). Pretermitting whether Ratliff has sought review in a timely manner, we do not have jurisdiction to address the magistrate court order at issue here. See Westwind Corp., 195 Ga. App. at 411 (1); Baker, 194 Ga. App. at 451 (3). The Georgia Constitution provides that “[a]ny court shall transfer to the appropriate court in the state any civil case in which it determines that jurisdiction or venue lies elsewhere.” Ga. Const. of 1983, Art. VI, Sec. I, Par. VIII; accord Court of Appeals Rule 11 (b). Accordingly, this application is hereby TRANSFERRED to the Cobb County Magistrate Court with direction to send it to the Cobb County Superior Court for disposition.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 05/05/2025 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.