Opinion
A24D0057
09-28-2023
JUSTINE HELEN SLATER v. LOCAL EVICTION LLC.
The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:
In this dispossessory action, the Gwinnett County Magistrate Court entered an order granting a writ of possession to the plaintiff and against Justine Helen Slater. Slater then filed this application seeking discretionary review of the order. We, however, lack jurisdiction.
"[T]he only avenue of appeal available from [a] magistrate court judgment is provided by OCGA § 15-10-41 (b) (1), which allows for a de novo appeal to the state or superior court." Tate v. Habif, 367 Ga.App. 435, 438-439 (2) (886 S.E.2d 389) (2023) (punctuation omitted). This Court has jurisdiction to address an order of the magistrate court only if the order has been reviewed by a state or superior court. See Westwind Corp. v. Washington Fed. S &L Assn., 195 Ga.App. 411, 411 (1) (393 S.E.2d 479) (1990). The Georgia Constitution, however, provides that "[a]ny court shall transfer to the appropriate court in the state any civil case in which it determines that jurisdiction or venue lies elsewhere." Ga. Const. of 1983, Art. VI, Sec. I, Par. VIII; accord Court of Appeals Rule 11 (b).
Accordingly, this application is hereby TRANSFERRED to the Superior Court of Gwinnett County.