Judy A. Bubniak v. James J. Kamler Jr.

Court of Appeals of Georgia

Judy A. Bubniak v. James J. Kamler Jr.

Court of Appeals of Georgia·Decided March 21, 2019·No. A19D0357·Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ March 20, 2019

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A19D0357. JUDY A. BUBNIAK et al. v. JAMES J. KAMLER, JR. et al.

Following a defense verdict in this trust litigation, the trial court awarded $553,911.19 in attorney fees to the defendants. The award was expressly made under both OCGA § 9-15-14 and OCGA § 9-11-37. Plaintiffs and their counsel seek discretionary review of the fee award. “Although OCGA § 5-6-35 (a) (10) requires that an appeal of an award of attorney fees made pursuant to OCGA § 9-15-14 be preceded by the grant of a discretionary application, a direct appeal is permitted when it is appealed as part of a judgment that is directly appealable.” Mitcham v. Blalock, 268 Ga. 644, 646-647 (4) (491 SE2d 782) (1997) (punctuation omitted). A final award of attorney fees under OCGA § 9-11-37 is directly appealable. Hart v. Redmond Regional Med. Center, 300 Ga. App. 641, 642 n.6 (686 SE2d 130) (2009). Accordingly, the award in this case – made under both § 9-15-14 and § 9-11-37 – is subject to direct appeal. See id.; see also Hallman v. Emory Univ., 225 Ga. App. 247, 249-250 (483 SE2d 362) (1997) (physical precedent only). We will grant a timely discretionary application if the lower court’s order is subject to direct appeal. See OCGA § 5-6-35 (j). Accordingly, this application is hereby GRANTED. Applicants shall have ten days from the date of this order to file a notice of appeal with the trial court. If they have already filed a notice of appeal, they need not file a second notice. The clerk of the trial court is DIRECTED to include a copy of this order in the record transmitted to the Court of Appeals.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 03/20/2019 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.

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Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ March 20, 2019

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A19D0357. JUDY A. BUBNIAK et al. v. JAMES J. KAMLER, JR. et al.

Following a defense verdict in this trust litigation, the trial court awarded $553,911.19 in attorney fees to the defendants. The award was expressly made under both OCGA § 9-15-14 and OCGA § 9-11-37. Plaintiffs and their counsel seek discretionary review of the fee award. “Although OCGA § 5-6-35 (a) (10) requires that an appeal of an award of attorney fees made pursuant to OCGA § 9-15-14 be preceded by the grant of a discretionary application, a direct appeal is permitted when it is appealed as part of a judgment that is directly appealable.” Mitcham v. Blalock, 268 Ga. 644, 646-647 (4) (491 SE2d 782) (1997) (punctuation omitted). A final award of attorney fees under OCGA § 9-11-37 is directly appealable. Hart v. Redmond Regional Med. Center, 300 Ga. App. 641, 642 n.6 (686 SE2d 130) (2009). Accordingly, the award in this case – made under both § 9-15-14 and § 9-11-37 – is subject to direct appeal. See id.; see also Hallman v. Emory Univ., 225 Ga. App. 247, 249-250 (483 SE2d 362) (1997) (physical precedent only). We will grant a timely discretionary application if the lower court’s order is subject to direct appeal. See OCGA § 5-6-35 (j). Accordingly, this application is hereby GRANTED. Applicants shall have ten days from the date of this order to file a notice of appeal with the trial court. If they have already filed a notice of appeal, they need not file a second notice. The clerk of the trial court is DIRECTED to include a copy of this order in the record transmitted to the Court of Appeals.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 03/20/2019 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.

Judy A. Bubniak v. James J. Kamler Jr., (Ga. Ct. App. 2019).

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