Morgan Pollard v. Portfolio Recovery Associates, Inc.

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: March 31, 2026
• Docket: A26A1604
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ March 31, 2026

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A26A1604. MORGAN POLLARD v. PORTFOLIO RECOVERY ASSOCIATES, INC.

Portfolio Recovery Associates, Inc. sued Morgan Pollard for breach of contract for a defaulted credit card account. Portfolio moved for summary judgment. The trial court granted Portfolio’s motion and entered judgment in favor of it in the amount of $5,460.03, along with costs of $317.01. Pollard then filed a notice of appeal. We, however, lack jurisdiction. Appeals in actions for damages in which the judgment is $10,000 or less must be initiated by filing an application for discretionary review. OCGA § 5-6-35(a)(6), (b); Pathfinder Payment Solutions v. Global Payments Direct, 344 Ga. App. 490, 490–91 (810 SE2d 653) (2018). “Although the grant of a motion for summary judgment is in general directly appealable, where the amount of the judgment is $ 10,000 or less, an application for discretionary appeal is required.” Thompson v. Salacoa Highland Prop. Owners’ Ass’n, 295 Ga. App. 478, 480 (672 SE2d 448) (2009) (quotation marks omitted). “Compliance with the discretionary appeals procedure is jurisdictional.” Smoak v. Dept. of Human Resources, 221 Ga. App. 257, 257 (471 SE2d 60) (1996). Pollard’s failure to comply with the discretionary appeals procedure deprives us of jurisdiction over this direct appeal, which is hereby DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 03/31/2026 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.