Jeanell W. Thornton v. 3485 Willowbrook, LLC

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: May 20, 2015
• Docket: A15A1672
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ May 18, 2015

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A15A1672. JEANELL W. THORNTON v. 3485 WILLOWBROOK, LLC.

This case originated as a dispossessory proceeding in magistrate court. The magistrate court entered a judgment in favor of the plaintiff, and defendant Jeanell W. Thornton appealed to superior court. On February 10, 2015, the superior court dismissed the appeal. On March 3, 2015, Thornton filed this appeal. We lack jurisdiction for two reasons. First, when a superior court order involves review of a magistrate court decision, an appellant must follow the discretionary appeal procedure to obtain appellate review before this Court. See OCGA § 5-6-35 (a) (1); English v. Delbridge, 216 Ga. App. 366, 367 (454 SE2d 175) (1995). Accordingly, Thornton’s notice of direct appeal does not give rise to a valid appeal. Second, this appeal is untimely. Pursuant to OCGA § 44-7-56, an appeal from a dispossessory judgment must be filed within seven days of the date the judgment was entered. See Ray M. Wright, Inc. v. Jones, 239 Ga. App. 521 (521 SE2d 456) (1999). Here, Thornton filed her notice of appeal 21 days after the superior court’s dismissal was entered, so it is untimely. For these reasons, we lack jurisdiction to consider this appeal, which is hereby DISMISSED. Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia 05/18/2015 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.