TERRENCE EDWARDS v. AT HOME STORES, LLC

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: August 27, 2025
• Docket: A25A1077
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ August 27, 2025

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A25A1077. TERRENCE EDWARDS et al v. AT HOME STORES, LLC.

In May 2023, Appellants Terrence and Tomica Edwards filed this negligence and premises liability action against, among others, Appellee At Home Stores. Following discovery, the trial court granted Appellee’s motion for summary judgment; Appellants filed a timely notice of appeal, and this appeal was docketed in this Court in January 2025. On July 17, 2025, Appellee filed in this Court a “Notice of Suggestion on Pendency of Bankruptcy for At Home Group . . . and Automatic Stay of Proceedings,” reflecting that, as of June 2025, Appellee (and other entities who are not party to this appeal) had “filed voluntary petitions for relief under Chapter 11 of Title 11 of the United States Code, 11 U.S.C. §§ 101-1532” and that those petitions are currently pending before the District Court of Delaware; attached to the notice is a copy of Appellee’s voluntary petition. While it is clear that this appeal is subject to an automatic stay due to the bankruptcy filing in federal court, the appellate courts of this State are constitutionally required to dispose of every case at the term of court for which it is entered on the court's dockets for hearing or at the next term of court. See 1983 Ga. Const., Art. VI, Sec. IX, Para. II. Consequently, this Court does not have the power to stay a case. See Boardman v. Brenninkmeijer, 328 Ga. App. 882, 882-883 (763 SE2d 267) (2014). Accordingly, we REMAND this case to the trial court until the stay of proceedings is lifted. At that time, Appellants may re-institute the appeal by filing a new notice of appeal in the trial court within 30 days of the date of the entry of the order in the bankruptcy court lifting the stay. See DCA Architects v. American Bldg. Consultants, 203 Ga. App. 598, 598-600 (1) (417 SE2d 386) (1992).

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 08/27/2025 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.