Jay Lamb v. Roy L. Nelms, Jr.

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: February 26, 2019
• Docket: A19A0822
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ February 13, 2019

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A19A0822. JAY LAMB v. ROY L. NELMS, JR.

This action began as a dispossessory proceeding in magistrate court, which transferred the case to the superior court. Following a bench trial, the superior court entered an order on April 20, 2018, in which it: (i) denied the defendant’s motions for summary judgment and for reconsideration of an earlier order compelling the payment of rent into the court registry; (ii) dismissed the defendant’s counterclaims and demand for a jury trial; (iii) granted the plaintiff’s dispossessory warrant; and (iv) entered judgment in the amount of $18,592 in favor of the plaintiff. On May 18, 2018, the defendant filed a notice of appeal directed to the Supreme Court, which transferred the matter to this Court. We lack jurisdiction. A notice of appeal generally must be filed within 30 days of entry of the order sought to be appealed. See OCGA § 5-6-38 (a). The underlying subject matter of an appeal, however, controls over the relief sought in determining the proper appellate procedure. Radio Sandy Springs, Inc. v. Allen Road Joint Venture, 311 Ga. App. 334, 335 (715 SE2d 752) (2011). The underlying subject matter here is a dispossessory judgment. See id. Under OCGA § 44-7-56, appeals in dispossessory actions must be filed within seven days of the date the judgment was entered. See Ray M. Wright, Inc. v. Jones, 239 Ga. App. 521, 522-523 (521 SE2d 456) (1999). The proper and timely filing of a notice of appeal is an absolute requirement to confer jurisdiction on this Court. Id. at 523. The defendant’s notice of appeal is untimely, as it was filed 28 days after entry of the order sought to be appealed. Accordingly, this appeal is hereby DISMISSED for lack of jurisdiction. See Radio Sandy Springs, Inc., 311 Ga. App. at 335.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 02/13/2019 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.