Jason A. Bryan v. Ashley R. Bryan

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: June 15, 2021
• Docket: A21D0339
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ June 03, 2021

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A21D0339. JASON A. BRYAN v. ASHLEY R. BRYAN.

In this divorce case, Jason A. Bryan (“Husband”) seeks a discretionary appeal to review the trial court’s order denying his third motion for summary judgment based upon a prenuptial agreement and granting Ashley R. Bryan’s (“Wife”) motion for interim attorney fees. We lack jurisdiction. Where, as here, a party seeks review of an order that is not directly appealable and the merits of the case remain pending in the trial court, compliance with interlocutory appeal procedures under OCGA § 5-6-34 (b) is required. See OCGA § 9-11-56 (h) (providing that an order denying summary judgment is subject to review by the interlocutory appeal procedures of OCGA § 5-6-34 (b)); Carr v. Carr, 238 Ga. 197, 197 (232 SE2d 69) (1977); Butler v. Gray, 177 Ga. App. 498, 498 (339 SE2d 769) (1986). “[A] party appealing an interlocutory order must comply with the requirements of OCGA § 5-6-34 (b), irrespective of whether the appeal is brought pursuant to OCGA § 5-6-35.” Bailey v. Bailey, 266 Ga. 832, 833 (471 SE2d 213) (1996) (punctuation omitted). See also Scruggs v. Ga. DHR, 261 Ga. 587, 588-589 (1) (408 SE2d 103) (1991). In other words, Husband’s filing of a discretionary application does not excuse his noncompliance with the additional procedures of OCGA § 5-6-34(b), including obtaining a certificate of immediate review from the trial court. See Bailey, 266 Ga. at 833. Because Husband has failed to follow the applicable procedures, we lack jurisdiction to consider this application for discretionary review. Id. Accordingly, the application is hereby DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 06/03/2021 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.