Robert D. Foreman v. Janice Mae Lowe

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: August 21, 2025
• Docket: A26D0026
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ August 21, 2025

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A26D0026. ROBERT D. FOREMAN v. JANICE MAE LOWE.

This case began when plaintiff Janice Lowe filed a petition for a declaratory judgment that her ex-husband Robert Foreman lacked standing to seek a share of the proceeds from a prior action for the wrongful death of one of the parties’ adult children because Foreman allegedly had abandoned that child. Lowe thereafter filed a motion for summary judgment seeking a trial court ruling to the same effect. Following an evidentiary hearing, the trial court issued an order on July 9, 2025, in which it concluded that Foreman “lost his parental power to [the parties’ child] by the failure to provide necessaries for the child or abandonment of the child,” pursuant to OCGA § 19-7-1 (b) (3); allocated 100 percent of any recovery for the child’s wrongful death to Lowe; and denied motions filed by Foreman for an accounting and attorney fees. On August 1, Foreman filed this timely application for discretionary review. See OCGA § 5-6-35 (d). No discretionary application is required, however, as: (i) the July 9 order is directly appealable as either a final judgment, see OCGA § 5-6-34 (a) (1), or an order granting summary judgment, see OCGA § 9-11-56 (h); and (ii) this action does not appear to fall within one of the categories of cases for which a discretionary application is required to seek appellate review under OCGA § 5-6-35 (a). Moreover, all rulings within the order sought to be appealed and any other non-final rulings entered in the case may also be raised as part of such a direct appeal. See OCGA § 5-6-34 (d); Southeast Ceramics v. Klem, 246 Ga. 294, 295 (1) (271 SE2d 199) (1980). Under OCGA § 5-6-35 (j), this Court will grant a timely application for discretionary review if the lower court’s order is subject to direct appeal. See City of Rincon v. Couch, 272 Ga. App. 411, 412 (612 SE2d 596) (2005). Accordingly, this application is hereby GRANTED. Foreman shall have ten days from the date of this order to file a notice of appeal in the trial court. See OCGA § 5-6-35 (g). If Foreman has already filed a notice of appeal in the trial court, then he 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,____________________ 08/21/2025 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.