Opinion
A22D0118
11-08-2021
TAMARA NOLAN v. RODNEY L. SANDERS.
The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:
Rodney L. Sanders sought a temporary twelve month protective order against Tamara Nolan. The trial court issued the stalking protective order against Nolan for her violation of OCGA § 16-5-90 et seq. Nolan filed this application for discretionary appeal to challenge the order. It appears, however, that the order may be appealed directly.
A party must file an application for discretionary appeal to obtain review of a protective order that was entered in an action brought under the Family Violence Act, because such cases are domestic relations cases within the meaning of OCGA § 5-6-35 (a) (2). See Schmidt v. Schmidt, 270 Ga. 461, 461-462 (1) (510 S.E.2d 810) (1999), disapproved on other grounds, Gilliam v. State, 312 Ga. 60, 64 (860 S.E.2d 543) (2021). However, a party may file a direct appeal from a protective order that was entered in an action brought under OCGA § 16-5-94, the general stalking statute. See Bodi v. Ryan, 358 Ga.App. 267, 268, n. 3 (855 S.E.2d 11) (2021) (a protective order that does not arise out of a domestic relations matter is directly appealable).
Here, there is no indication that the parties have a familial relationship within the meaning of the Family Violence Act, which defines "family violence" as "acts between past or present spouses, persons who are parents of the same child, parents and children, stepparents and stepchildren, foster parents and foster children, or other persons living or formerly living in the same household[.]" OCGA § 19-13-1. Therefore, Nolan appears to have a right of direct appeal.
We will grant an otherwise 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, and Nolan shall have ten days from the date of this order to file her notice of appeal with the trial court. If she has already filed a notice of appeal in the trial court, she need not file an additional notice. The clerk of the trial court is DIRECTED to include a copy of this order in the records transmitted to the Court of Appeals.