Full Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia ATLANTA,____________________ November 12, 2026 The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A27D0292. FRANK BOND et al v. AMH 2015-1 BORROWER, LP. On October 16, 2026, the magistrate court entered an order denying Frank Bond’s motion for leave to submit a late answer. On October 27, 2026, Bond filed this application for discretionary review of the magistrate court’s order. We lack jurisdiction. “Ordinarily, the only avenue of appeal available from a magistrate court judgment is provided by OCGA § 15-10-41(b), which allows for appellate review in the state or superior court.” Harris v. Reserve at Hollywood LLC, 376 Ga. App. 553, 553 (920 SE2d 163) (2025) (citing OCGA § 5-3-4(a) (providing that state and superior courts have appellate jurisdiction over final judgments of lower judicatories)). “Thus, this Court has jurisdiction to address a magistrate court order only if the order has been reviewed by a state or superior court.” Id. Therefore, we lack jurisdiction to consider this application. Under the Georgia Constitution, however, “[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.” Ga. Const. of 1983, Art. VI, Sec. I, Par. VIII. Accord Ga. Ct. App. R. 11(b). As this filing may be construed as a petition for review under OCGA § 5-3-1 et seq., it is hereby TRANSFERRED to the Magistrate Court of Cobb County with direction to transmit it to the state or superior court for disposition. We recognize that we are in possession of limited material and that our determination that jurisdiction may lie in another court is limited by this dearth of information. Thus, our ruling should not constrain either the magistrate court or the state or superior court to the extent those courts determine either that Bond has not perfected the right to appeal or that jurisdiction lies elsewhere. Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 11/12/2026 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.