Full Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia ATLANTA,____________________ October 22, 2026 The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A27D0202. DENISE PHILLIPS v. ASHWOOD RIDGE OWNER LLC DBA CENTENNIAL RIDGE APARTMENTS. In this dispossessory action, Denise Phillips filed this application for discretionary appeal seeking review of an order from the Magistrate Court of Clayton County. We lack jurisdiction. First, the copy of the magistrate court order Phillips submitted to this Court is not stamped “filed,” meaning we have no way of knowing whether or when the magistrate order was entered. See State v. White, 282 Ga. 859, 860(1) (655 SE2d 575) (2008) (“Even though an order may be signed, it is not considered to have been entered and, thus, does not become effective until it is filed with the clerk.”). On October 1, 2026, this Court issued an order directing Phillips to supplement her application with a stamped “filed” copy of the magistrate order and warned Phillips that failure to file such a copy of the magistrate order within 10 days of the date of this Court’s order would result in the application’s dismissal. Phillips failed to comply with this Court’s order, which requires that her application be dismissed. Moreover, ordinarily, “the only avenue of appeal available from a magistrate court judgment is provided by OCGA § 15-10-41(b)(1), which allows for a de novo appeal to the state or superior court.” Tate v. Habif, 367 Ga. App. 435, 438–39(2) (886 SE2d 389) (2023) (citation modified). “Thus, this Court has jurisdiction to address a magistrate court order only if the order has been reviewed by a state or superior court.” Harris v. Reserve at Hollywood LLC, 376 Ga. App. 553, 553 (920 SE2d 163) (2025). Where a timely application for discretionary appeal represents an attempt to appeal a magistrate order and may be construed as a petition for review, 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. In this case, however, we cannot determine whether or when the magistrate court order at issue was entered, and therefore we decline to transfer the application. For the above reasons, this application is hereby DISMISSED. Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 10/22/2026 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.