Opinion
A23A1249
05-10-2023
LAWRENCE P. NEAL v. ANGELA M. WEARY.
The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:
Lawrence P. Neal and Angela M. Weary were divorced in 2018. In 2018 and 2019, the trial court found Neal in contempt of his obligations under the divorce decree, and in 2022, Weary filed a third petition for contempt. In January 2023, the trial court once again found Neal in contempt of the divorce decree, and Neal has filed this direct appeal. We lack jurisdiction.
Appeals from "judgments or orders in divorce, alimony, and other domestic relations cases" including orders "holding or declining to hold persons in contempt" must be made by application for discretionary appeal. OCGA § 5-6-35 (a) (2). The underlying action - a contempt petition from a divorce decree - is a domestic relations case that requires compliance with the discretionary appeal statute. See Russo v. Manning, 252 Ga. 155, 155 (312 S.E.2d 319) (1984). "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). Neal's failure to follow the appropriate appellate procedure deprives us of jurisdiction to consider this appeal, which is hereby DISMISSED.