Background
In July 2026, the trial court confirmed an arbitration award resolving a dispute between Tommy Phillips IV and Venetia Lewis and entered final judgment for Lewis.
Phillips, proceeding without counsel, timely filed an application for discretionary appeal in the Court of Appeals of Georgia.
The Court’s Holding
The court granted Phillips’s application. It concluded that no provision of Georgia’s discretionary-appeal statute, OCGA § 5-6-35(a), appeared to apply to the case.
Instead, the trial court’s final judgment appeared directly appealable under OCGA § 5-6-34(a)(1). Under OCGA § 5-6-35(j), a timely discretionary application must be granted when the challenged order is directly appealable.
Key Takeaways
- A final judgment confirming an arbitration award may be directly appealable.
- A timely discretionary application must be granted when the order is subject to direct appeal.
- Phillips has ten days from the order to file a notice of appeal in superior court if he has not already done so.
Why It Matters
The order ensures that Phillips may pursue appellate review through the ordinary notice-of-appeal process. It also underscores that Georgia appellate courts will treat a timely discretionary application as granted when the underlying order is directly appealable.