The Court of Appeals was Indiscreet

In Premier Pediatric Providers, LLC v. Kennesaw Pediatrics, P.C. (Ga. Feb. 20, 2024), the Supreme Court of Georgia held that the Court of Appeals has no authority to dismiss an appeal for the late filing of a transcript. Under O.C.G.A. § 5-6-48(c), only the trial court has that power, and it can only be reversed for abuse of discretion. Even if the Court of Appeals finds an abuse of discretion, as it did here, the case has to be remanded to the trial court for further findings and cannot be dismissed at the appellate level.

The Supreme Court explained that the decision whether to dismiss the appeal is a mixed question of law and fact, and therefore better suited for the trial court, rather than the Court of Appeals, to decide. Still, there may be “subsidiary” questions of law to review de novo, such as the time period to file the transcript, as well as factual findings (what steps the appellant took to get the transcript filed), which are reviewed for clear error.

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