Opinion
A22D0016
08-19-2021
ULTRA GROUP OF COMPANIES, INC. v. GEORGIA LOTTERY CORPORATION et al.
The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:
Ultra Group of Companies, Inc. filed this timely discretionary application seeking to appeal a final order of the superior court affirming the decision of the Georgia Lottery Corporation. Ultra, however, has a right of direct appeal here.
Some of the records in this case refer to the Georgia Lottery Corporation as the Georgia Lottery Commission.
Under OCGA § 5-6-35 (a) (1), a discretionary application is required to appeal "decisions of the superior courts reviewing decisions of the State Board of Workers' Compensation, the State Board of Education, auditors, state and local administrative agencies, and lower courts by certiorari or de novo proceedings[.]" But the statute creating the Georgia Lottery Corporation expressly provides that it is "not a state agency[.]" OCGA § 50-27-4. Accordingly, a superior court order reviewing a decision of the Georgia Lottery Corporation "does not fall within the ambit of OCGA § 5-6-35 (a) (1)," and an application for discretionary review is not required. Amusement Leasing, Inc. v. Georgia Lottery Corp., 352 Ga.App. 243, 246 (1) (834 S.E.2d 330) (2019).
We will grant a timely application for discretionary appeal if the lower court's order is subject to direct appeal. See OCGA § 5-6-35(j). Accordingly, this application is hereby GRANTED. Ultra shall have ten days from the date of this order to file a notice of appeal in the trial court. If Ultra has already filed a timely notice of appeal in the trial court, it need not file a second notice. The clerk of the trial court is DIRECTED to include a copy of this order in the record transmitted to the Court of Appeals.