Opinion
A22A0394
11-08-2021
JUSTICE QUEEN AL-AMEEN v. EDWARD D. ROBINSON.
The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:
Justice Queen Al-Ameen and Edward D. Robinson were divorced in 2019. Robinson filed a motion for contempt, alleging that Al-Ameen had not paid child support since the divorce decree was entered. On March 16, 2021, the trial court entered a contempt order that reflected the amount of Al-Ameen's child support arrearage, then amended the arrearage amount in its "Addendum to Contempt Order" entered on August 18, 2021. Al-Ameen filed a timely notice of appeal from the amended order. We, however, lack jurisdiction.
Appeals from orders in domestic relations cases, including orders holding or declining to hold persons in contempt, must be pursued by discretionary application. See OCGA § 5-6-35 (a) (2). "[C]ompliance with the discretionary appeals procedure is jurisdictional." Fabe v. Floyd, 199 Ga.App. 322, 332 (1) (405 S.E.2d 265) (1991). Although OCGA § 5-6-34 (a) (11) permits a direct appeal from child custody rulings issued in child custody cases, the order at issue in this appeal does not include any child custody rulings, so it does not fall within the scope of this provision. See Voyles v. Voyles, 301 Ga. 44, 47 (799 S.E.2d 160) (2017).
El-Ameen's failure to follow the discretionary appeal procedure deprives us of jurisdiction over this direct appeal, which is hereby DISMISSED.