No Right to Appeal Verbal Order

There is no right to appeal a case until a final Order is entered. In Long v. City of Madison, 372 Ga. App. 643 (2024), James Long appealed a probate Court Order determining that his dog was dangerous and ordering the dog to be euthanized. Nothing in the record showed that an Order was entered in probate court before Long filed his appeal to Superior Court.

The Court of Appeals held:

Because the probate court order was not filed in probate court as of the date of the superior court appeal, no appealable decision had been entered, no order was in place regarding Long’s dog, and the case remained in the probate court. See OCGA § 5-6-31; cf. Cameron v. Miles, 304 Ga. App. 161, 162-163, 695 S.E.2d 691 (2010) (an order does not become final and appealable “until and unless it is reduced to writing, signed by the judge, and filed with the clerk”); see also Sharp v. State, 183 Ga. App. 641, 642(1), 360 S.E.2d 50 (1987) (“It is elementary that an oral order is not final nor appealable until and unless it is reduced to writing, signed by the judge, and filed with the clerk.”). Moreover, given the circumstances in this case — particularly, this Court’s attempt to supplement the record — the provisions of OCGA § 5-6-48(d) regarding supplementing an appellate record are not applicable.

The Superior Court had no jurisdiction over an appeal before a written order was entered because the case was still pending in probate court.