Dekalb County School District v. Chayka Betties

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ October 12, 2016

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A17D0086. DEKALB COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT v. CHAYKA BETTIS et al.

Defendant DeKalb County School District (“DCSD”) seeks discretionary review of the trial court’s order denying its motion for summary judgment in this action for breach of contract. We lack jurisdiction. Because this action remains pending below, DCSD was required to use the interlocutory appeal procedures – including obtaining a certificate of immediate review from the trial court – to appeal the denial of its motion for summary judgment. See OCGA § 5-6-34 (b); Boyd v. State, 191 Ga. App. 435 (383 SE2d 906) (1989). If a certificate of immediate review is not entered within ten days of entry of the order at issue, the party seeking review must wait until the final judgment to appeal. See OCGA § 5-6-34 (b); Wilcher v. Confederate Packaging, Inc., 287 Ga. App. 451, 452 (1) (651 SE2d 790) (2007) (“A certificate of immediate review of a court order must be signed by the trial judge and filed with the clerk of the trial court within ten days of the entry of the interlocutory order sought to be appealed.”). Although DCSD asserts in its application that a certificate of immediate review was issued, no such certificate was included with its application. Rather, DCSD has submitted only a proposed certificate, which was neither signed by the trial judge nor filed with the clerk. DCSD’s failure to follow the required appellate procedure deprives us of jurisdiction over this application, which is hereby DISMISSED. See Bailey v. Bailey, 266 Ga. 832, 833 (471 SE2d 213) (1996).

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia 10/12/2016 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.