Opinion
A21D0339
06-03-2021
JASON A. BRYAN v. ASHLEY R. BRYAN.
The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:
In this divorce case, Jason A. Bryan ("Husband") seeks a discretionary appeal to review the trial court's order denying his third motion for summary judgment based upon a prenuptial agreement and granting Ashley R. Bryan's ("Wife") motion for interim attorney fees. We lack jurisdiction.
Where, as here, a party seeks review of an order that is not directly appealable and the merits of the case remain pending in the trial court, compliance with interlocutory appeal procedures under OCGA § 5-6-34 (b) is required. See OCGA § 9-11-56 (h) (providing that an order denying summary judgment is subject to review by the interlocutory appeal procedures of OCGA § 5-6-34 (b)); Carr v. Carr, 238 Ga. 197, 197 (232 S.E.2d 69) (1977); Butler v. Gray, 177 Ga.App. 498, 498 (339 S.E.2d 769) (1986). "[A] party appealing an interlocutory order must comply with the requirements of OCGA § 5-6-34 (b), irrespective of whether the appeal is brought pursuant to OCGA § 5-6-35." Bailey v. Bailey, 266 Ga. 832, 833 (471 S.E.2d 213) (1996) (punctuation omitted). See also Scruggs v. Ga. DHR, 261 Ga. 587, 588-589 (1) (408 S.E.2d 103) (1991). In other words, Husband's filing of a discretionary application does not excuse his noncompliance with the additional procedures of OCGA § 5-6-34(b), including obtaining a certificate of immediate review from the trial court. See Bailey, 266 Ga. at 833. Because Husband has failed to follow the applicable procedures, we lack jurisdiction to consider this application for discretionary review. Id. Accordingly, the application is hereby DISMISSED.