PHILIP A. SEABRIAN v. GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES, Ex Rel. MYKAEL A. WILLIAMS

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: May 22, 2026
• Docket: A26A1996
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ May 22, 2026

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A26A1996. PHILIP A. SEABRIAN v. GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES, EX REL. MYKAEL A. WILLIAMS.

In this child support recovery action, Philip A. Seabrian filed this direct appeal from the trial court’s March 25, 2026 order finding him in wilful contempt for failure to pay child support and ordering him to pay both support and arrearage. We, however, lack jurisdiction. “OCGA § 5-6-35(a)(2) provides, without exception, that appeals in ‘domestic relations cases’ must be brought by application for discretionary appeal.” Booker v. Ga. Dep’t of Human Res., 317 Ga. App. 426, 426 (731 SE2d 110) (2012) (citation and punctuation omitted). A case involving the collection of child support constitutes a domestic relations case. Smoak v. Dep’t of Human Res., 221 Ga. App. 257, 257 (471 SE2d 60) (1996). “Compliance with the discretionary appeals procedure is jurisdictional.” Booker, 315 Ga. App. at 427 (citation and punctuation omitted). Under these circumstances, Seabrian’s failure to file a discretionary application deprives us of jurisdiction to consider this appeal, which is hereby DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 05/22/2026 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.