Opinion
A24D0012
08-14-2023
ANGELA MARION BROUSSARD v. AUTOVEST, LLC, AS ASSIGNEE OF U.S. AUTO SALES.
Autovest, LLC, as assignee of U.S. Auto Sales, filed suit against Angela Marion Broussard. On June 22, 2023, the trial court entered a final order and default judgment against Broussard. Broussard filed a motion to set aside and vacate the judgment, which the trial court denied on July 11, 2023. Following the denial of her motion to vacate, Broussard filed this timely application for discretionary appeal from the trial court's June 22 order.
Although an appeal of an order denying a motion to set aside must come by discretionary application, see OCGA § 5-6-35 (a) (8), the trial court's June 22 order, the only order from which Johnson seeks to appeal, is subject to direct appeal. See OCGA § 5-6-34 (a) (1); Camelback Mgmt. Co. v. Phoenix Periodicals, 192 Ga.App. 101, 102 (1) (383 S.E.2d 651) (1989) (stating that a default judgment is a final and directly appealable judgment). 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. Broussard shall have ten days from the date of this order to file a notice of appeal with the trial court. If she has already filed a notice of appeal in the trial court, she 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.