Stanley J. Fulks v. Charissa M. White

Court of Appeals
of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________
June 16, 2026

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A26A1800. STANLEY J. FULKS v. CHARISSA M. WHITE.

Stanley J. Fulks brought this contempt action against Charissa M. White,
claiming that she had failed to comply with both her child support obligations under
the parties’ divorce decree, as well as a prior contempt order requiring her to pay child
support arrearage. The trial court denied Fulks’s petition, and he filed this direct
appeal. We lack jurisdiction.
Appeals from judgments or orders in domestic relations cases, including orders
“holding or declining to hold persons in contempt,” must be made by application for
discretionary appeal. See OCGA § 5-6-35(a)(2), (b). See also Russo v. Manning, 252
Ga. 155, 156 (312 SE2d 319) (1984) (“A judgment of contempt regarding a domestic
relations decree is appealable only by application for discretionary appeal.”); Booker
v. Ga. Dept. of Human Resources, 317 Ga. App. 426, 427 (731 SE2d 110) (2012) (an
action in which the “underlying subject matter is a [parent’s] obligation to provide
child support” is “a domestic relations case subject to review only by application”).
“Compliance with the discretionary appeals procedure is jurisdictional.” Hair
Restoration Specialists v. State of Ga., 360 Ga. App. 901, 903 (862 SE2d 564) (2021).
See also In re Bruni, 369 Ga. App. 488, 493(8) (893 SE2d 862) (2023) (“The
jurisdiction of an appellate court to consider an appeal depends upon whether the
appeal is taken in substantial compliance with the rules of appellate procedure
prescribing the conditions under which the judgment of the trial court may be
considered appealable.”) (punctuation omitted).
Consequently, Fulks’s failure to file an application for discretionary appeal deprives
us of jurisdiction over this appeal, which is hereby DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia
Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________
06/16/2026
I certify that the above is a true extract from
the minutes of the Court of Appeals of Georgia.
Witness my signature and the seal of said court
hereto affixed the day and year last above written.

, Clerk.