SHENIKA PEREIRA v. TERRY CARPENTER

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ April 01, 2021

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A21A1058. SHENIKA PEREIRA v. TERRY CARPENTER et al.

Shenika Pereira sued Terry Carpenter and Sandra Carpenter for damages arising out of a dog biting incident. The Carpenters filed a motion to enforce a settlement agreement. The trial court entered an order granting the motion wherein it expressly stated that it would enter an order dismissing the case upon receiving notification that the Carpenters paid $5,331.84 to Pereira. Pereira filed this direct appeal. We lack jurisdiction. Under OCGA § 5-6-34 (a) (1), appeals generally may be taken from “[a]ll final judgments, that is to say, where the case is no longer pending in the court below.” An order granting a motion to enforce a settlement agreement “is not final until the trial court expressly enters final judgment on that order.” Thomas v. Sheppard, 349 Ga. App. 871, 871 (827 SE2d 60) (2019) (punctuation omitted). Thus, “notwithstanding the trial court’s grant of a motion to enforce a settlement, a case is not at an end until such a time as the agreement has been made the judgment of the court, thereby terminating the litigation.” Torres v. Elkin, 317 Ga. App. 135, 139 (1) (730 SE2d 518) (2012) (punctuation omitted); accord Underwood v. Underwood, 282 Ga. 643, 644 (1) (651 SE2d 736) (2007). Here, the record contains no indication that the trial court has entered a final judgment and made the settlement agreement the judgment of the court.

Consequently, because no final judgment has been entered, Pereira was required to follow the interlocutory appeal procedures – including obtaining a certificate of immediate review from the trial court – to appeal the order granting the Carpenters’s motion to enforce the settlement agreement. See OCGA § 5-6-34 (b); Boyd v. State, 191 Ga. App. 435, 435 (383 SE2d 906) (1989). Her failure to do so deprives us of jurisdiction over this appeal, which is hereby DISMISSED. See Bailey v. Bailey, 266 Ga. 832, 833 (471 SE2d 213) (1996).

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 04/01/2021 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.