Jordan C. Usman v. Alex Smith

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: November 19, 2014
• Docket: A14A2250
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ October 31, 2014

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A14A2250. JORDAN C. USMAN v. ALEX SMITH.

Jordan C. Usman, a prison inmate, filed a civil action against his former attorney, seeking damages for fraud and breach of contract. The trial court dismissed the complaint, and Usman then filed this direct appeal. We, however, lack jurisdiction. Because Usman is incarcerated, his appeal is controlled by the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1996, OCGA § 42-12-1 et seq. Under OCGA § 42-12-8, an appeal of a civil action filed by a prisoner “shall be as provided in Code Section 5-6-35.” And under OCGA § 5-6-35, the party wishing to appeal must file an application for discretionary appeal to the appropriate appellate court. Because a prisoner has no right of direct appeal in civil cases, we lack jurisdiction to consider this direct appeal from the superior court’s order. See Jones v. Townsend, 267 Ga. 489 (480 SE2d 24) (1997). This appeal is therefore DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia 10/31/2014 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.