CALVIN T. DORMAN v. LEGACY AT STONEY CREEK HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC.

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: June 21, 2024
• Docket: A24A1637
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ June 21, 2024

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A24A1637. CALVIN T. DORMAN et al. v. LEGACY AT STONEY CREEK HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC.

In this action to collect homeowner’s association assessments and other charges, the trial court entered an order on February 1, 2024, granting the plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment and awarding the plaintiff a total of $4,131.42. Defendants Calvin and Barbara Dorman filed a notice of appeal on May 2, 2024. We lack jurisdiction for two reasons. First, appeals in actions for damages in which the judgment is $10,000 or less must be initiated by filing an application for discretionary review. OCGA § 5-6-35 (a) (6), (b); Jennings v. Moss, 235 Ga. App. 357, 357 (509 SE2d 655) (1998). “Compliance with the discretionary appeals procedure is jurisdictional.” Smoak v. Dept. of Human Resources, 221 Ga. App. 257, 257 (471 SE2d 60) (1996). The Dormans’ failure to comply with the discretionary review procedure deprives us of jurisdiction over this direct appeal. See Jennings, 235 Ga. App. at 357. Second, even if a direct appeal were proper in this case, this appeal is untimely. A notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days of entry of the judgment or trial court order sought to be appealed. OCGA § 5-6-38 (a). The proper and timely filing of a notice of appeal is an absolute requirement to confer appellate jurisdiction on this Court. Perlman v. Perlman, 318 Ga. App. 731, 739 (4) (734 SE2d 560) (2012). The Dormans’ notice of appeal was untimely filed 91 days after entry of the order they seek to appeal. For the above reasons, we lack jurisdiction over this appeal, which is hereby DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 06/21/2024 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.