Opinion
A21A1689
07-02-2021
MARY ANN HILL v. AUTOMOBILE ACCEPTANCE CORPORATION.
The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:
This case originated in magistrate court. Following an adverse ruling, defendant Mary Ann Hill appealed to state court. The state court entered judgment in favor of the plaintiff in the amount of $2, 977.63, and Hill filed this appeal. We lack jurisdiction for two reasons.
First, appeals from state court decisions reviewing magistrate court decisions by de novo proceedings must be initiated by filing an application for discretionary appeal. OCGA § 5-6-35 (a) (11); Strachan v. Meritor Mtg. Corp. East, 216 Ga.App. 82, 82 (453 S.E.2d 119) (1995). Second, appeals of all actions for damages in which the judgment is $10, 000.00 or less must also be initiated by filing a discretionary application. See OCGA § 5-6-35 (a) (6); Jennings v. Moss, 235 Ga.App. 357, 357 (509 S.E.2d 655) (1998).
"Compliance with the discretionary appeals procedure is jurisdictional." Smoak v. Dept. of Human Resources, 221 Ga.App. 257, 257 (471 S.E.2d 60) (1996). Because Hill did not follow the proper procedure for obtaining appellate review, we lack jurisdiction over this appeal, which is hereby DISMISSED.