Full Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia ATLANTA,____________________ May 28, 2026 The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A26D0507. MICHAEL DAVID SLOTNICK v. DANIELLE H. SMITH. Michael David Slotnick filed a petition for a writ of mandamus against Danielle H. Smith, the Clayton County Tax Commissioner, seeking to “[s]top the ad valorem taxation of private property.” The trial court denied the petition. Slotnick then filed this application for discretionary appeal in the Supreme Court, which transferred it here upon finding no basis for jurisdiction there. See Case No. S26D1070 (Apr. 16, 2026). Under OCGA § 5-6-34(a)(7), all judgments or orders granting or refusing to grant mandamus are directly appealable. Based on the application materials, no provision of the discretionary appeal statute, OCGA § 5-6-35, appears to apply here. Thus, it appears that Slotnick has a right of direct appeal. We will grant an otherwise timely application for discretionary appeal if the lower court’s order is subject to direct appeal. See OCGA § 5-6-35(j). Accordingly, this application is hereby GRANTED. See Carson v. Brown, 348 Ga. App. 689, 690 (824 SE2d 605) (2019) (“After reviewing the application for a discretionary appeal, we granted it after concluding that [the applicant] had a right to a direct appeal under OCGA § 5-6-34(a)(7), which provides, in relevant part, for direct appeals to this Court from all judgments or orders granting or refusing to grant mandamus.”) (punctuation omitted). Slotnick shall have ten days from the date of this order to file a notice of appeal with the trial court, if he has not already done so. See OCGA § 5-6-35(g). The clerk of the trial court is DIRECTED to include a copy of this order in the record transmitted to the Court of Appeals. Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 05/28/2026 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.