In Re: Estate of Fronice S. Price

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: June 10, 2016
• Docket: A16A1766
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia ATLANTA,____________________ June 03, 2016

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A16A1766. IN RE: ESTATE OF FRONICE S. PRICE.

In January 2015, Thomas L. Cohen, the administrator of the estate of Fronice S. Price, filed an interim return covering the period of May 2014 to December 2014, including a request for the payment of over $70,000 in legal fees. Two beneficiaries of the estate objected that the estate’s legal fees were excessive. Following a hearing, the probate court ordered payment of $11,580 in legal fees.1 Cohen originally filed his appeal in the Supreme Court, which transferred the case to this Court after finding no basis for jurisdiction in the Supreme Court. We, however, also lack jurisdiction.

Cohen’s direct appeal is premature as there is no final judgment and the case remains pending in the probate court. See OCGA § 5-6-34 (a) (1) (a judgment is final “where the case is no longer pending in the court below”). Therefore, the order from which Cohen seeks to appeal is interlocutory and not appealable without compliance with the interlocutory appeal procedure of OCGA § 5-6-34 (b), which includes obtaining a certificate of immediate review. See Bailey v. Bailey, 266 Ga. 832, 833 (471 SE2d 213) (1996). Cohen’s failure to follow the interlocutory appeal procedure deprives us of jurisdiction, and this appeal is hereby DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia 06/03/2016 Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 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.

1 This case has previously been before this Court on an unrelated matter. See Case No. A13A1517 (decided November 13, 2013).