The Hospital Authority of Liberty County D/B/A Liberty Regional Medical Center v. Zuleyma Velez Colon

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia ATLANTA,__________________ December 16, 2013 The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A14A0430. THE HOSPITAL AUTHORITY OF LIBERTY COUNTY d/b/a LIBERTY REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER v. ZULEYMA VELEZ COLON et al. The Hospital Authority of Liberty County has filed a notice of appeal from an August 9, 2013 order denying its motion for a protective order, an August 19, 2013 order modifying the August 9 order, and a September 6, 2013 order denying a separate motion for a protective order. All of these orders address discovery issues, including depositions. We lack jurisdiction. The orders sought to be appealed are not final judgments or orders otherwise subject to direct appeal; they are non-final discovery orders. As such, the Hospital Authority was required to follow the application procedure to seek an interlocutory appeal.1 OCGA § 5-6-34 (b); Johnson & Johnson v. Kaufman, 226 Ga. App. 77 ( 485 SE2d 525 ) (1997). The Hospital Authority’s failure to comply with the interlocutory appeal requirements deprives this Court of jurisdiction, and the direct appeal is hereby DISMISSED. See Smith v. Adamson, 226 Ga. App. 698, 701 (4) ( 487 SE2d 386 ) (1997); Cornelius v. Finley, 204 Ga. App. 299 ( 418 SE2d 815 ) (1992). Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia 12/16/2013 Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,__________________ 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. [1] The Hospital Authority filed an application for interlocutory appeal regarding the August 9 and August 19 orders on August 28, 2013. We denied the application. See The Hospital Authority of Liberty County v. Colon, Case Number A14I0006 (decided September 26, 2013).