Cherie Long v. Duane P. Truex, III

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA, February 25, 2020 The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A20D0289, A20D0290. CHERIE LONG v. DUANE P. TRUEX, III (two cases).

Following their 2014 divorce, Cherie Long and Duane P. Truex, III, have engaged in protracted litigation, particularly with regard to custody over their minor child. In 2016, the trial court awarded sole custody of the child to Truex, and we affirmed on appeal. See Long v. Truex, 349 Ga. App. 875, 877-878 (1) (b) (827 SE2d 66) (2019). Long subsequently filed an “Exigent Motion to Modify Custody” that the trial court denied on December 18, 2019. The same day, the trial court entered an order finding Long to be in contempt of an order requiring her to reimburse Truex for payment of Guardian ad Litem fees. In Case Number A20D0289, Long seeks leave to appeal the custody order. In Case Number A20D0290, Long challenges the contempt finding. Under OCGA § 5-6-34 (a) (11), direct appeals are permitted from “[a]ll judgments or orders in child custody cases awarding, refusing to change, or modifying child custody or holding or declining to hold persons in contempt of such child custody judgment or orders.” See Moore v. Moore-McKinney, 297 Ga. App. 703, 704-705 (1) (678 SE2d 152) (2009). Accordingly, the trial court’s order denying Long’s request for custody modification may be appealed directly. The right to directly appeal the custody order also permits appellate review of the contempt ruling. Under OCGA § 5-6-34 (d), “[w]here an appeal is taken under any provision of subsection (a), (b), or (c) of this Code section, all judgments, rulings, or orders rendered in the case which are raised on appeal and which may affect the proceedings below shall be reviewed and determined by the appellate court, without regard to the appealability of the judgment, ruling, or order standing alone and

without regard to whether the judgment, ruling, or order appealed from was final or was appealable by some other express provision of law contained in this Code section[.]” See Hammonds v. Parks, 319 Ga. App. 792, 794 (2) (735 SE2d 801) (2012). Pursuant to OCGA § 5-6-35 (j), this Court will grant a timely discretionary application if the lower court’s order is subject to direct appeal.1 Accordingly, Long’s application in Case Number A20D0289 is hereby GRANTED. Because Long has a right of appeal from the custody ruling, the application in Case Number A20D0290 is also GRANTED. Long shall have ten days from the date of this order to file a notice of appeal with the superior court, if she have not already done so. The clerk of the superior court is DIRECTED to include a copy of this order in the record transmitted to the Court of Appeals.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia 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 Cave obtained extensions of time in which to file her discretionary applications, rendering them timely. See A20E0024 and A20E0025.