Opinion
A22E0028
02-03-2022
CLIVE RICHARDS v. ATLANTA QOZ FUND LLC.
Petitioner filed this emergency motion asking this Court to review an order and judgment issued by the State Court of Fulton County on February 2, 2022, and asking this Court for a "Motion [for] Relief [f]rom Judgment" as well as a "Motion [t]o Stay Writ of Possession." For the following reasons, we deny the motion.
This Court's Rule 40 (b) emergency powers are limited and intended to be used sparingly. Rule 40 (b) provides, in relevant part, that we may only issue "such orders or give such direction to the trial court as may be necessary to preserve jurisdiction of an appeal or to prevent the contested issue from becoming moot." In this case, the petitioner has an existing appellate remedy.
"[A]ppeals from decisions of the superior courts reviewing decisions of lower courts by certiorari or de novo proceedings shall be by application for discretionary appeal. OCGA § 5-6-35 (a) (1), (b)." (Citation omitted.) Bullock v. Sand, 260 Ga.App. 874, 875 (581 S.E.2d 333) (2003). See also Dean's Catering v. Sturm & Assoc., 231 Ga.App. 202, 202-203 (498 S.E.2d 786) (1998) (an appeal from a decision of the superior court reviewing de novo a decision of the magistrate court and, thereafter, granting summary judgment and a writ of possession is subject to the discretionary appeal procedures of OCGA § 5-6-35 (a) (1)). Further, the proper and timely filing of an application for discretionary appeal acts as a supersedeas. See OCGA § 5-6-35 (h) ("[t]he filing of an application for appeal shall act as a supersedeas to the extent that a notice of appeal acts as supersedeas").
Because the petitioner has appellate remedies available to him, it is unnecessary to invoke this Court's emergency powers. Therefore, the motion is hereby DENIED.