In Re Estate of Pauline Martin

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: June 13, 2022
• Docket: A22A1298
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ June 13, 2022

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A22A1298. IN RE ESTATE OF PAULINE MARTIN.

Carolyn Miles, who petitioned to probate the purported will of Pauline Martin, filed this direct appeal from an order of the Probate Court of Gwinnett County denying her motions for summary judgment and default judgment.1 However, the order that Miles seeks to appeal is non-final, which leaves the case pending before the probate court. See Georgia Central Credit Union v. Cole, 239 Ga. 870, 870-871 (239 SE2d 37) (1977) (the denial of a motion for summary judgment is an interlocutory ruling which is not directly appealable); Ware v. Handy Storage, 222 Ga. App. 339, 339 (474 SE2d 240) (1996) (the denial of a motion for default judgment is an interlocutory ruling which is not directly appealable). Thus, Miles was required to use the interlocutory appeal procedures – including obtaining a certificate of immediate review from the probate court – to obtain appellate review of the rulings.2 See OCGA

1 Miles initially filed this appeal in the Supreme Court of Georgia. However, based on its lack of appellate jurisdiction over cases involving wills, the Supreme Court transferred the case to this Court. See Miles v. Jacobs, Case No. S22A0672 (Mar. 8, 2022). 2 In general, an order from Gwinnett County Probate Court may be appealed directly to Georgia’s Supreme Court or Court of Appeals. See OCGA § 15-9-123(a); see also OCGA § 15-9-120 (2) (based on its population as shown in the 2020 census, Gwinnett County Probate Court comes within the statutory definition of “probate court”). However, the general laws and rules of appellate procedure applicable to cases appealed from the superior courts of this state apply to and govern appeals of civil cases from the probate courts. OCGA § 15-9-123 (b). § 5-6-34 (b); In re Estate of Reece, 360 Ga. App. 364, 365-366 (861 SE2d 169) (2021). Therefore, we lack jurisdiction over this direct appeal, which is hereby DISMISSED. See id. at 366.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 06/13/2022 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.