MICHAEL PETIT v. TIDEWATER CREDIT SERVICES, LLC

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ October 07, 2020

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A21A0444. MICHAEL PETIT v. TIDEWATER CREDIT SERVICES, LLC et al.

Defendant Michael Petit appeals the state court’s order granting the plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment and awarding the plaintiff $2,604.44 in damages, $294.14 in pre-judgment interest, $314.86 in attorney fees, and court costs in this contract action. We lack jurisdiction. “Although the grant of a motion for summary judgment is in general directly appealable, where the amount of the judgment is $10,000 or less, an application for discretionary appeal is required.” Ca-Shar, Inc. v. McKesson Corp., 204 Ga. App. 865, 865 (420 SE2d 810) (1992) (punctuation omitted); see also OCGA § 5-6-35 (a) (6), (b). As the total judgment in favor of the plaintiff is for less than $10,000, the entry of summary judgment provides no basis for a direct appeal in this case. See Ca- Shar, Inc., 204 Ga. App. at 865-866. “Compliance with the discretionary appeals procedure is jurisdictional.” Smoak v. Dept. of Human Resources, 221 Ga. App. 257, 257 (471 SE2d 60) (1996).

Petit’s failure to comply with the discretionary appeal procedure deprives us of jurisdiction over this direct appeal, which is hereby DISMISSED. See Jennings v. Moss, 235 Ga. App. 357, 357 (509 SE2d 655) (1998).

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 10/07/2020 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.