Tijonna Holmes v. Ga Ivy Commons, LLC D/B/A Ivy Commons

Court of Appeals
of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________
March 13, 2026

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A26D0387. TIJONNA HOLMES v. GA IVY COMMONS, LLC D/B/A IVY
COMMONS.

GA Ivy Commons, LLC d/b/a Ivy Commons (“Landlord”) filed this
dispossessory action in the Magistrate Court of Cobb County seeking past-due rent
and a writ of possession for premises leased to Tijonna Holmes. On January 16, 2026,
the magistrate court entered a consent judgment in favor of Landlord, granting it a
writ of possession and $6,938.76 in past-due rent. On March 2, 2026, Holmes filed
this application for discretionary review of the magistrate court’s order. We lack
jurisdiction.
The only avenue of appeal available from a magistrate court judgment is
provided by OCGA § 15-10-41 (b), which allows for a de novo appeal to the state or
superior court. See Tate v. Habif, 367 Ga. App. 435, 438-39(2) (886 SE2d 389) (2023)
(citation and punctuation omitted). Where an application for discretionary appeal
represents an attempt to appeal a magistrate order, this Court will occasionally
transfer that application to the magistrate court with direction to send the appeal to
state or superior court. See Ga. Const. of 1983, Art. VI, Sec. I, Par. VIII (“[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”); OCGA § 5-3-4(a) (granting superior and
state courts appellate jurisdiction over final judgments of lower judicatories). Under
the circumstances of this case, however, a transfer is inappropriate for at least two
reasons.
First, like this Court, the state and superior courts have appellate jurisdiction
only where an appeal is filed within the time prescribed by statute. See OCGA § 5-3-7.
See also Radio Sandy Springs v. Allen Road Joint Venture, 311 Ga. App. 334, 336 (715
SE2d 752) (2011) (“The proper and timely filing of a notice of appeal is an absolute
requirement to confer jurisdiction upon the appellate court.”) (citation and
punctuation omitted). While an appeal from magistrate court generally may be filed
within 30 days of entry of the order sought to be appealed, see OCGA § 5-3-7, appeals
in dispossessory actions must be filed within seven days of the date the judgment was
entered. See OCGA § 44-7-56(b)(1); Stubbs v. Local Homes, LLC, 375 Ga. App. 513,
516 (915 SE2d91) (2025); Radio Sandy Springs, 311 Ga. App. at 335-36. Here,
Holmes’s application was filed 45 days following entry of the magistrate court’s order.
Given that fact, Holmes has lost her right of appeal.
Second, even if Holmes’s application were timely, she waived her appellate
rights by consenting to the underlying judgment. See Hurt v. Norwest Mtg., Inc., 260
Ga. App. 651, 656(1)(c) (580 SE2d 580) (2003) (“[N]o litigant will be heard to
complain of an order or judgment of the court which [s]he procures or assists in
procuring, unless it be made plainly to appear that the consent of the party seeking to
complain was obtained by fraud or mistake.”) (punctuation omitted). Accordingly,
we decline to transfer this case back to the magistrate court with direction to send the
appeal to state or superior court, and this application is DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia
Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________
03/13/2026
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.