Opinion
A25A0169
08-29-2024
HUONG TRAN et al. v. MAI NGUYEN et al.
The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:
In this civil action, defendants Huong Tran and Nail Eagle, Inc., filed this direct appeal from the trial court's order denying their motion for OCGA § 9-15-14 attorney fees. We lack jurisdiction.
An appeal from a trial court order granting or denying a request for OCGA § 9-15-14 attorney fees must be initiated by filing an application for discretionary review. See OCGA § 5-6-35 (a) (10), (b); Capricorn Systems v. Godavarthy, 253 Ga.App. 840, 841-842 (560 S.E.2d 730) (2002); Jones v. Padgett, 186 Ga.App. 362, 363 (2) (367 S.E.2d 88) (1988). "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). Consequently, the defendants' failure to follow the discretionary review procedure deprives us of jurisdiction over this direct appeal, which is hereby DISMISSED. See Capricorn Systems, 253 Ga.App. at 842; Jones, 186 Ga.App. at 363 (2).