Opinion
A23A0343
06-06-2023
T.C., INDIVIDUALLY, et al. v. ATHENS HOUSING AUTHORITY A/K/A HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF ATHENS.
The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:
T.C., individually, and as next friend of T.N., a minor child, filed a civil action against Athens Housing Authority a/k/a Housing Authority of the City of Athens ("Housing Authority"). The Housing Authority filed a motion to dismiss based on sovereign immunity. Thereafter, T.C. filed a motion to add a party defendant to the case. While the motion to add a party defendant was still pending, the trial court entered an order dismissing all of T.C.'s claims against the Housing Authority based on sovereign immunity, without ruling on T.C's motion to add a party defendant. T.C. filed this direct appeal from the order. The Housing Authority has filed a motion to dismiss the appeal on the ground that the order being appealed is not a final, directly appealable order. We agree.
Generally, an order is final and appealable when it leaves no issues remaining to be resolved, constitutes the trial court's final ruling on the merits of the action, and leaves the parties with no further recourse in the trial court. See generally OCGA § 5-6-34 (a) (1) (permitting appeals from "[a]ll final judgments, that is to say, where the case is no longer pending in the court below"); Thomas v. Douglas County, 217 Ga.App. 520, 522 (1) (457 S.E.2d 835) (1995). Here, the trial court has not ruled on T.C.'s motion to add a party defendant, and the motion is still pending below. Thus, the order T.C. seeks to appeal is a non-final order which did not resolve all issues in the case. T.C. therefore was required to follow the procedures for interlocutory review as set forth in OCGA § 5-6-34 (b). See Bailey v. Bailey, 266 Ga. 832, 832-833 (471 S.E.2d 213) (1996); see also Gray v. Springs, 224 Ga.App. 427, 427 (481 S.E.2d 3) (1997). Consequently, this Court lacks jurisdiction over this appeal.
Accordingly, the Housing Authority's motion to dismiss is granted and this appeal is hereby DISMISSED.