Ronald F. Jackson v. Carrington Mortgage Services, LLC

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: February 6, 2020
• Docket: A20A0988
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ January 29, 2020

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A20A0988. RONALD F. JACKSON v. CARRINGTON MORTGAGE SERVICES, LLC.

This case began as a dispossessory proceeding in magistrate court. The magistrate court ruled in favor of Carrington Mortgage Services, LLC, and Ronald F. Jackson appealed to superior court. On September 10, 2019, the superior court granted summary judgment in favor of Carrington Mortgage, and Jackson filed this appeal on September 27, 2019. We lack jurisdiction for two reasons. First, appeals from superior court decisions reviewing lower court decisions by certiorari or de novo proceedings must be initiated by filing an application for discretionary appeal. OCGA § 5-6-35 (a) (1), (b); Bullock v. Sand, 260 Ga. App. 874, 875 (581 SE2d 333) (2003). “Compliance with the discretionary appeals procedure is jurisdictional.” Smoak v. Dept. of Human Resources, 221 Ga. App. 257, 257 (471 SE2d 60) (1996). Thus, Jackson’s failure to follow the proper procedure deprives us of jurisdiction over this appeal. Second, under OCGA § 5-6-38 (a), a notice of appeal generally must be filed within 30 days of entry of the order sought to be appealed, but OCGA § 44-7-56 requires an appeal in a dispossessory action to be filed within seven days of the date the judgment was entered. Ray M. Wright, Inc. v. Jones, 239 Ga. App. 521, 522-523 (521 SE2d 456) (1999). And the timely filing of a notice of appeal is an absolute requirement to confer jurisdiction on this Court. Id. at 523. Here, Jackson filed his notice of appeal 17 days after entry of the superior court’s order. For these reasons, we lack jurisdiction to consider this appeal, which is hereby DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 01/29/2020 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.