Viren Patel v. Miguel Lopez

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ January 03, 2023

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A23I0111. VIREN PATEL et al. v. MIGUEL LOPEZ.

In this civil action, the parties filed multiple pre-trial motions, including motions to set aside, to dismiss, to hold a defendant in contempt, and to stay

discovery. On November 22, 2022, the trial court entered a single order resolving the pre-trial motions. The trial court issued a certificate of immediate review on

December 5, 2022, and the defendants filed this application for interlocutory appeal. We, however, lack jurisdiction.

Under OCGA § 5-6-34 (b), a party may obtain interlocutory review only if the trial court “certifies within ten days of entry” of the order at issue that immediate

review should be had. A timely certificate of immediate review is a jurisdictional requirement. See Von Waldner v. Baldwin/Cheshire, Inc., 133 Ga. App. 23, 24 (2)

(209 SE2d 715) (1974). In order to be timely, the certificate must be entered within the ten day period. See OCGA § 5-6-34 (b); Turner v. Harper, 231 Ga. 175, 176 (200 SE2d 748) (1973). If the certificate of immediate review is not timely entered, the party seeking review must await final judgment in order to appeal the interlocutory

rulings. See id.

Here, the certificate of immediate review was entered 13 days after entry of the order on appeal, making it untimely. Accordingly, we lack jurisdiction to consider

this application, which is hereby DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 01/03/2023 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.