Full Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia ATLANTA,____________________ November 06, 2026 The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A27D0265. KAREN WORTHY v. EASTERN PROPERTY MANAGEMENT LLC. On October 15, 2026, the Fulton County Magistrate Court entered an order granting plaintiff Eastern Property Management LLC a writ of possession and awarding the plaintiff past-due rent and court costs. Defendant Karen Worthy filed this pro se application for discretionary review on October 20, 2026, seeking leave to appeal the October 15 magistrate court order. We lack jurisdiction. Ordinarily, the only avenue of appeal available from a magistrate court judgment is provided by OCGA § 15-10-41(b)(1), which provides for appellate review in state or superior court. See Tate v. Habif, 367 Ga. App. 435, 438–39(2) (886 SE2d 389) (2023). Thus, this Court has jurisdiction to address a magistrate court order only if it has been reviewed by a state or superior court. See Westwind Corp. v. Washington Fed. S & L Ass’n, 195 Ga. App. 411, 411(1) (393 SE2d 479) (1990); Baker v. G. T., Ltd., 194 Ga. App. 450, 451(3) (391 SE2d 1) (1990). The Georgia Constitution provides that “[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). Accordingly, to the extent that this filing may be construed as a petition for review under OCGA § 5-3-1 et seq., it is hereby TRANSFERRED to the Fulton County Magistrate Court with direction to transmit it to the state or superior court for disposition as appropriate. We recognize that we are in possession of limited materials and that our determination that jurisdiction may lie in another court is limited by the dearth of information. Thus, our ruling should not constrain either the magistrate court or the state or superior court to the extent that those courts determine either that Worthy has not perfected the right to appeal or that jurisdiction lies elsewhere. Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 11/06/2026 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.