Juliana Korsah-Dick v. Jefferson Garcia

Facts

In the case of Korsah-Dick v. Garcia, Juliana Korsah-Dick sued Jefferson Garcia because of a motor vehicle collision. The jury found in favor of the Defendant, Garcia, and awarded Plaintiff zero dollars. The trial court entered a judgment on the verdict, and Plaintiff filed an application for discretionary appeal from the judgment.

Issue & Holding

The issue in this case is whether the trial court’s order was subject to discretionary appeal to the Georgia Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals ordered that although the trial court’s order wasn’t subject to discretionary appeal under O.C.G.A. § 5-6-35, the trial court’s order was actually subject to direct appeal under § 5-6-34 (a)(1) because Plaintiff was awarded zero dollars.

Reasoning

Discretionary appeals are enumerated under § 5-6-35. Plaintiff was awarded less than $10,000; so, she appealed the judgment under § 5-6-35(a)(6), which states that a party can appeal all actions for damages when the judgment is $10,000.00 or less. However, because Plaintiff’s award was actually zero dollars, the Court of Appeals ordered that it is directly appealable based on prior opinions of the Courts—McCormick v. Harris, 253 Ga. App. 417, 417 (2002); Smith v. Curtis, 226 Ga. App. 470 (1997); Bales v. Shelton, 260 Ga. 335, 391 S.E.2d 394 (1990)

In McCormick v. Harris, the Court of Appeals opined that no application is required for the appeal of a “zero” dollar award. The legislature’s original intent of § 5-6-35(a)(6) was a discretionary appeal for any judgment greater than one cent. Bales v. Shelton, 260 Ga. 335, 335 (1990). The purpose of the statute was to limit appeals where the jury awarded any money to the plaintiff after hearing the evidence. Id. However, when the plaintiff receives nothing at all, that final judgment is directly appealable. Id.

In this case, because Plaintiff received nothing at all in the final judgment from the trial court, her final judgment was directly appealable to the Court of Appeals pursuant to § 5-6-34(a)(1).

Conclusion

Korsah-Dick v. Garcia shows that an award of $0 to a plaintiff is directly appealable. No application for discretionary appeal is necessary.

Citation: Juliana Korsah-Dick v. Jefferson Garcia, No. A24D0039 (Ga. Ct. App. August 31, 2023)