Opinion
A23D0027
08-12-2022
COREY BROOKS v. TRUE NORTH PROPERTY OWNER A, LLC.
The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:
Corey Brooks, proceeding pro se, filed this application for discretionary review, seeking to appeal an order and judgment entered by the Henry County Magistrate Court in a dispossessory action. We lack jurisdiction for multiple reasons.
First, Brooks's application is untimely. An application for discretionary review generally may be filed within 30 days of entry of the order sought to be appealed. See OCGA § 5-6-35 (d). Under OCGA § 44-7-56, however, 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 S.E.2d 456) (1999); see also Court of Appeals Rule 31 (a). Here, the magistrate court's order was entered on July 26, 2022, and Brooks filed his application on August 8, which was 13 days later.
Second, "[t]he only avenue of appeal available from [a] magistrate court judgment is provided by OCGA § 15-10-41 (b) (1), which allows for a de novo appeal to the state or superior court." Handler v. Hulsey, 199 Ga.App. 751, 751 (406 S.E.2d 225) (1991). Thus, this Court may address magistrate court matters only if they already have been reviewed by the state or superior court. See Westwind Corp. v. Washington Fed. S & L Assn., 195 Ga.App. 411, 411 (1) (393 S.E.2d 479) (1990). Absent an appealable state or superior court order, we are unable to entertain jurisdiction over this case, regardless of its timeliness.
For each of the above reasons, Brooks's application is hereby DISMISSED for lack of jurisdiction.