Nancy Smith v. Mark White

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: June 2, 2021
• Docket: A21D0305
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ May 17, 2021

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A21D0305. NANCY SMITH v. MARK WHITE.

Mark White filed a dispossessory action against Nancy Smith in magistrate court, and the magistrate court entered default judgment on March 24, 2021. On April 15, 2021, Smith filed in this Court a “Motion to Set Aside Entry of Default and Default Judgment,” which was docketed as an application for discretionary appeal. “The only avenue of appeal available from [a] magistrate court judgment is provided by OCGA § 15-10-41 (b) (1), which allows for a de novo appeal to the state or superior court.” Handler v. Hulsey, 199 Ga. App. 751, 751 (406 SE2d 225) (1991). This Court thus may address magistrate court matters only if they already have been reviewed by the state or superior court. See Westwind Corp. v. Washington Fed. S & L Assn., 195 Ga. App. 411, 411 (1) (393 SE2d 479) (1990). The Georgia Constitution provides that “[a]ny court shall transfer to the appropriate court in the state any civil case in which it determines that jurisdiction or venue lies elsewhere.” Ga. Const. of 1983, Art. VI, Sec. I, Par. VIII; Bosma v. Gunter, 258 Ga. 664, 665 (373 SE2d 368) (1988). Accordingly, this appeal is hereby TRANSFERRED to the Walker County State Court. Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 05/17/2021 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.