Michael J. Hauf v. Natalya v. Hauf

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ August 14, 2019

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A20D0019. MICHAEL J. HAUF v. NATALYA V. HAUF.

In this pending divorce action, the husband filed an application for a discretionary appeal from an “Order Granting [the Wife’s] Motion for Sanctions Against [the Husband] and Deferring Assessment of Attorneys Fees,” based on the husband’s significant and wilful failure to comply with discovery. The wife has filed a motion to dismiss the application and a motion for sanctions. “Generally, an order is final and appealable when it leaves no issues remaining to be resolved, constitutes the court’s final ruling on the merits of the action, and leaves the parties with no further recourse in the trial court.” Thomas v. Douglas County, 217 Ga. App. 520, 522 (1) (457 SE2d 835) (1995); see also OCGA § 5-6-34 (a) (1). Here, the parties’ divorce case remains pending below. In addition, in the order granting the wife’s motion for discovery sanctions, the superior court specifically reserved ruling on the request for attorney fees, which also leaves the case pending below. See CitiFinancial Svcs., Inc. v. Holland, 310 Ga. App. 480, 481 (713 SE2d 678) (2011). In order to appeal such an order, the husband was required to comply with the interlocutory appeal procedure and obtain a certificate of immediate review. OCGA § 5-6-34 (b). Although this is a domestic relations case, “[t]he discretionary appeal statute does not excuse a party seeking appellate review of an interlocutory order from complying with the additional requirements of OCGA § 5-6-34 (b).” Bailey v. Bailey, 266 Ga. 832, 833 (471 SE2d 213) (1996). The husband’s failure to follow the proper appellate procedure deprives us of jurisdiction to consider his application. See Warringer v. Warringer, 204 Ga. App. 86, 86 (418 SE2d 446) (1992). Accordingly, the wife’s motion to dismiss is GRANTED and this

application is hereby DISMISSED. The wife’s motion for sanctions is DENIED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 08/14/2019 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.