Tenet Healthsystem Gb, Inc. v. Spalding County, Georgia

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: January 28, 2020
• Docket: A20A0864
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ January 16, 2020

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A20A0864. TENET HEALTHSYTEM GB, INC. et al. v. SPALDING COUNTY, GEORGIA.

Tenet HealthSystem GB, Inc. d/b/a Spalding Regional Medical Center, Inc. and Atlanta Medical Center, Inc. (collectively, the Plaintiffs) sued Spalding County to recover payment for medical care rendered to inmates of the county jail. Spalding County filed a motion to dismiss, which the trial court granted in part and denied in part. The Plaintiffs appeal this ruling. We, however, lack jurisdiction. “In a case involving multiple parties or multiple claims, a decision adjudicating fewer than all the claims or the rights and liabilities of [fewer] than all the parties is not a final judgment.” Johnson v. Hosp. Corp. of America, 192 Ga. App. 628, 629 (385 SE2d 731) (1989) (punctuation omitted). Under such circumstances, there must be either an express determination that there is no just reason for delay under OCGA § 9-11-54 (b) or compliance with the interlocutory appeal requirements of OCGA § 5-6-34 (b). See id. Where neither code section is followed, the appeal is premature and must be dismissed. Id. Here, the trial court neither dismissed all claims against Spalding County nor directed entry of judgment under OCGA § 9-11-54 (b). In order to appeal, the Plaintiffs were thus required to follow the interlocutory appeal procedures, which include obtaining a certificate of immediate review from the trial court. See OCGA § 5-6-34 (b); Boyd v. State, 191 Ga. App. 435, 435 (383 SE2d 906) (1989). The Plaintiffs’ failure to do so deprives us of jurisdiction over this appeal, which is hereby DISMISSED. See Bailey v. Bailey, 266 Ga. 832, 833 (471 SE2d 213) (1996).

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 01/16/2020 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.