Opinion
A23I0079
11-16-2022
DEKALB COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT et al. v. DEKALB AGRICULTURE TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT, INC. et al.
The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:
Seven DeKalb County charter schools filed suit for breach of contract against DeKalb County School District ("DCSD"), alleging that DCSD breached the schools' charter agreements by withholding various types of funding. The parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment, and the trial court granted, in part, the charter schools' motion for summary judgment and granted, in part, DCSD's motion for summary judgment. DCSD has filed a timely application for interlocutory review, seeking to challenge, inter alia, the trial court's grant of summary judgment to the charter schools.
Under OCGA § 9-11-56 (h), the grant of summary judgment on any issue or as to any party is reviewable by direct appeal. City of Demorest v. Town of Mt. Airy, 282 Ga. 653, 654, n. 1 (653 S.E.2d 43) (2007). In addition, "any other judgments, rulings or orders rendered in the case and which may affect the proceedings below" may be challenged as part of such a direct appeal. Southeast Ceramics v. Klem, 246 Ga. 294, 295 (1) (271 S.E.2d 199) (1980); see OCGA § 5-6-34 (d).
We will grant a timely application for interlocutory appeal if the order complained of is subject to direct appeal and the applicants have not otherwise filed a timely notice of appeal. Spivey v. Hembree, 268 Ga.App. 485, 486, n. 1 (602 S.E.2d 246) (2004). Accordingly, this interlocutory application is hereby GRANTED. DCSD shall have ten days from the date of this order to file a notice of appeal in the trial court. If DCSD has already filed a notice of appeal from the order at issue here, 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.