Heidi Moua v. Douachi Ly

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: May 9, 2023
• Docket: A23A1173
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ May 09, 2023

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A23A1173. HEIDI MOUA v. DOUACHI LY.

After the parties were divorced pursuant to a final judgment and decree of divorce, Heidi Moua filed this direct appeal. Douachi Ly has filed a motion to dismiss the appeal, arguing that we lack jurisdiction because Moua was required to file an application for discretionary appeal. We agree. Appeals from “judgments or orders in divorce, alimony, and other domestic relations cases” must be made by application for discretionary appeal. OCGA § 5-6-35 (a) (2). While the divorce decree here included an award of custody of the parties’ children, and OCGA § 5-6-34 (a) (11) authorizes a direct appeal from all judgments or orders “in child custody cases” that award, refuse to change, or modify child custody, that statute “allows a direct appeal from the types of orders specified in that statute that are entered in ‘custody cases’ but not from orders relating to child custody issues that are entered in ‘divorce cases.’” Ford v. Ford, 347 Ga. App. 233, 234 (818 SE2d 690) (2018) (punctuation omitted). Moua’s failure to follow the discretionary appeal procedure deprives us of jurisdiction over this direct appeal. See id. Accordingly, Ly’s motion to dismiss is hereby GRANTED, and this appeal is hereby DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 05/09/2023 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.