Brian Swaim v. Jessica Esquivel

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: October 13, 2021
• Docket: A21A1243
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ October 13, 2021

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A21A1243. BRIAN SWAIM v. JESSICA ESQUIVEL.

In this civil action following a motor vehicle accident, plaintiff Brian Swaim filed this direct appeal from the trial court’s order granting the defendant Jessica Esquivel’s motion to enforce a settlement agreement as to the two minor plaintiffs’ medical expenses. We, however, lack jurisdiction. Under OCGA § 5-6-34 (a) (1), appeals generally may be taken from “[a]ll final judgments, that is to say, where the case is no longer pending in the court below.” An order granting a motion to enforce a settlement agreement “is not final until the trial court expressly enters final judgment on that order.” Thomas v. Sheppard, 349 Ga. App. 871, 871 (827 SE2d 60) (2019) (punctuation omitted). Thus, “notwithstanding the trial court’s grant of a motion to enforce a settlement, a case is not at an end until such time as the agreement has been made the judgment of the court, thereby terminating the litigation.” Torres v. Elkin, 317 Ga. App. 135, 139 (1) (730 SE2d 518) (2012) (punctuation omitted); accord Underwood v. Underwood, 282 Ga. 643, 644 (1) (651 SE2d 736) (2007). Here, the record contains no indication that the trial court has entered a final judgment and made the settlement agreement the judgment of the court. Consequently, because no final judgment has been entered, Swain was required to follow the interlocutory appeal procedures – including obtaining a certificate of immediate review from the trial court – to appeal the order granting Esquivel’s motion to enforce the settlement agreement. See OCGA § 5-6-34 (b); Boyd v. State, 191 Ga. App. 435, 435 (383 SE2d 906) (1989). His failure to do so deprives us of jurisdiction over this appeal, which is hereby DISMISSED. See Bailey v. Bailey, 266 Ga. 832, 833 (471 SE2d 213) (1996).

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 10/13/2021 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.