Opinion
A24D0294
04-17-2024
CYNTHIA A. DICKERSON v. WELLSTAR ATLANTA MEDICAL CENTER, INC. et al.
The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:
In this pending medical malpractice action, the plaintiff filed an application for discretionary appeal from the trial court's order imposing OCGA § 9-15-14 (b) attorney fees and expenses on plaintiff's counsel. We, however, lack jurisdiction.
Generally, an application for discretionary appeal is required for appellate review of an award of attorney fees or litigation expenses under OCGA § 9-15-14. See OCGA § 5-6-35 (a) (10), (b). However, where, as here, the action remains pending below and the order is a non-final order that does not resolve all issues in the action, a party is required to follow the interlocutory appeal procedure set forth in OCGA § 5-6-34 (b) - including obtaining a certificate of immediate review - to challenge a fee award. See generally Bailey v. Bailey, 266 Ga. 832, 832-833 (471 S.E.2d 213) (1996) (a party seeking appellate review of an interlocutory order that also implicates the discretionary application statute must comply with the interlocutory application statute); see also Eidson v. Croutch, 337 Ga.App. 542, 543-545 (788 S.E.2d 129) (2016) (where attorney fees order is issued prior to final judgment, a party seeking appellate review must follow interlocutory appeal requirements). Thus, the plaintiff in this case was required to follow the interlocutory appeal procedure to challenge the OCGA § 9-15-14 (b) fee award.
Consequently - and pretermitting whether the plaintiff has standing to challenge the attorney fee award entered against her counsel - her failure to comply with the interlocutory appeal requirements deprives this Court of jurisdiction over this application for discretionary review, which is hereby DISMISSED. See Bailey, 266 Ga. at 832-833; Eidson, 337 Ga.App. at 543-545.
See In the Interest of J. R. P., 287 Ga.App. 621, 623-624 (2) (652 S.E.2d 206) (2007).