Waste Management of Georgia, Inc. v. Dasht, LLC

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: May 30, 2025
• Docket: A25A1868
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ May 30, 2025

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A25A1868. WASTE MANAGEMENT OF GEORGIA, INC. v. DASHT, LLC.

In this civil action, the jury rendered a verdict in favor of plaintiff Dasht, LLC, on several of its claims against defendant Waste Management of Georgia, Inc. (“Waste Management”). Waste Management filed a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, which the trial court denied. Waste Management then filed this direct appeal. Because the record does not contain any written entry of judgment on the verdict by the trial court, we lack jurisdiction. “The verdict of a jury is not an appealable judgment[.]” Boatright v. Sunshine Toyota, Inc., 177 Ga. App. 332, 332 (339 SE2d 275) (1985). Where, as here, there is no entry of judgment in the record, this Court has no jurisdiction and the appeal must be dismissed. Id. Moreover, the denial of Waste Management’s motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict does not constitute a basis for the exercise of appellate jurisdiction over this case. McKeever v. State, 189 Ga. App. 445, 445 (375 SE2d 899) (1988). “A motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict . . . filed prior to entry of the judgment on the verdict is void.” Id.; accord Vinson v. Piedmont Hous., Inc., 198 Ga. App. 814, 814 (1) (403 SE2d 96) (1991). “Notwithstanding the denial of [Waste Management’s] void motion[], the case remains pending in the trial court due to the absence of a final judgment. Accordingly, there is no final judgment in this case to be affirmed or reversed.” McKeever, 189 Ga. App. at 446 (punctuation omitted). Because, absent entry of final judgment, this case remains pending below, Waste Management was required to comply with the interlocutory appeal procedures — including obtaining a certificate of immediate review from the trial court — to obtain appellate review at this point. See OCGA § 5-6-34 (b); Boyd v. State, 191 Ga. App. 435, 435 (383 SE2d 906) (1989). Accordingly, we lack jurisdiction over this appeal, which is hereby DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 05/30/2025 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.