National Santa Agency, LLC v. Pictureu Promotions, Inc.

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: May 21, 2026
• Docket: A26I0206
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ May 21, 2026

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A26I0206. NATIONAL SANTA AGENCY, LLC v. PICTUREU PROMOTIONS, INC.

National Santa Agency, LLC (“National Santa”) sued multiple defendants, including PictureU Promotions, Inc. (“PictureU”), for tortious interference with contractual relations and civil conspiracy. PictureU filed a motion to dismiss the claims against it, which the trial court granted. After obtaining a certificate of immediate review, National Santa filed this application for interlocutory appeal, seeking leave to appeal the trial court’s ruling. “When a trial court considers a motion to dismiss, it may only consider exhibits attached to and incorporated into the complaint and answer; consideration of matters outside the pleadings converts the motion to one for summary judgment.” Patterson v. United Servs. Auto. Ass’n, 375 Ga. App. 821, 821 (917 SE2d 799) (2025). Here, PictureU cited to deposition testimony in its motion to dismiss, and the superior court referenced that testimony in its order. As the trial court considered matters outside the pleadings, the order is properly construed as the grant of partial summary judgment, which may appealed directly. See Johnson v. RLI Ins. Co., 288 Ga. 309, 310 (704 SE2d 173) (2010); OCGA § 9-11-56(h). This Court will grant a timely application for interlocutory review if the order complained of is subject to direct appeal and the applicant has not otherwise filed a notice of appeal. Spivey v. Hembree, 268 Ga. App. 485, 486 n.1 (602 SE2d 246) (2004). Accordingly, National Santa’s application is hereby GRANTED. National Santa shall have ten days from the date of this order to file a notice of appeal in the trial court. See OCGA § 5-6-34 (b). If National Santa has already filed a notice of appeal in the trial court, it need not file a second notice. The clerk of the trial court is DIRECTED to include a copy of this order in the appellate record.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 05/21/2026 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.