Jauntrica West v. Wri Property Management, LLC

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ December 02, 2019

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A20A0751. JAUNTRICA WEST et al. v. WRI PROPERTY MANAGEMENT, LLC.

After the magistrate court issued a writ of possession to WRI Property Management, LLC, Jauntrica West and John West appealed to the superior court. On September 11, 2019, the superior court dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction. The Wests then filed their notice of appeal on October 10, 2019. We, however, lack jurisdiction for two reasons. First, appeals from superior court decisions reviewing lower court decisions by certiorari or de novo proceedings must be initiated by filing an application for discretionary appeal. OCGA § 5-6-35 (a) (1), (b); Bullock v. Sand, 260 Ga. App. 874, 875 (581 SE2d 333) (2003). “Compliance with the discretionary appeals procedure is jurisdictional.” Smoak v. Dept. of Human Resources, 221 Ga. App. 257, 257 (471 SE2d 60) (1996). The Wests’ failure to follow the proper procedure deprives us of jurisdiction over this appeal.1 Second, while a notice of appeal generally must be filed within 30 days of entry of the order sought to be appealed under OCGA § 5-6-38 (a), the underlying subject matter of an appeal controls over the relief sought in determining the proper appellate procedure. See Radio Sandy Springs, Inc. v. Allen Road Joint Venture, 311 Ga. App. 334, 335 (715 SE2d 752) (2011); Rebich v. Miles, 264 Ga. 467, 467-468 (448 SE2d

1 The Wests attempted to appeal a previous dismissal by the superior court in this dispossessory action, but that appeal was dismissed for failing to follow the discretionary application procedures. See Case No. A19A2257 (decided July 24, 2019).

192) (1994). The underlying subject matter here is a dispossessory judgment. Under OCGA § 44-7-56, appeals in dispossessory actions must be filed within seven days of the date the judgment was entered. See Ray M. Wright, Inc. v. Jones, 239 Ga. App. 521, 522-523 (521 SE2d 456) (1999). The proper and timely filing of a notice of appeal is an absolute requirement to confer jurisdiction on this Court. Id. at 523. The Wests’ notice of appeal is untimely, as it was filed 29 days after entry of the order they seek to appeal. Accordingly, this appeal is hereby DISMISSED for lack of jurisdiction.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 12/02/2019 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.