Harold A. Thomas v. Legacy at Stoney Creek Homeowners Association, Inc.

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: June 8, 2017
• Docket: A17A1712
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ June 08, 2017

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A17A1712. HAROLD A. THOMAS et al. v. LEGACY AT STONEY CREEK HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC.

Legacy at Stoney Creek Homeowners Association, Inc. (“Legacy”), filed suit against Harold A. Thomas and Christy E. Thomas, seeking to recover past-due assessments. On March 20, 2017, the trial court entered a judgment for the plaintiff in the amount of $5,664.50. On April 20, 2017, Mr. Thomas filed a notice of appeal. We lack jurisdiction for two reasons. First, the notice of appeal is untimely. A notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days after the entry of the trial court’s order. OCGA § 5-6-38 (a). The proper and timely filing of a notice of appeal is an absolute requirement to confer jurisdiction upon this Court. Couch v. United Paperworkers Intl. Union, 224 Ga. App. 721, 721 (482 SE2d 704) (1997). Here, Thomas filed his notice of appeal 31 days after the trial court’s judgment was entered. Second, where a money judgment in an action for damages totals $10,000.00 or less, a party must follow the discretionary appeal procedures to obtain appellate review. See OCGA § 5-6-35 (a) (6). Thomas’s failure to follow the required procedure deprives us of jurisdiction to consider his appeal. See Jennings v. Moss, 235 Ga. App. 357, 357 (509 SE2d 655) (1998). For these reasons, this appeal is hereby DISMISSED for lack of jurisdiction.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 06/08/2017 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.