Eddie Amoakuh v. Federal National Mortgage Association, A17D0166

FNMA obtained a writ of possession against Eddie Amoakuh in July 2014 in a dispossessory action.
Amoakuh, through attorney Grady Roberts, filed an application for discretionary review in the Court of Appeals on November 10, 2016 challenging multiple lower-court orders (magistrate and state court).
The application impermissibly combined an alternative motion for remand with the discretionary application, violating Court of Appeals Rule 41(b); it also failed to include one of the four orders as required by Rule 31(e).
The Court of Appeals has previously handled three applications by Roberts in this same matter, transferring two to state court and granting withdrawal of one; the Court repeatedly advised Roberts on proper appellate procedure from magistrate courts.
The Court held that magistrate-court orders must first be appealed de novo to state or superior court under OCGA § 15-10-41(b)(1), and that appeals from dispossessory judgments must be filed within seven days under OCGA § 44-7-56.
The Court transferred the portions of the application seeking review of magistrate court orders to Fulton County State Court, dismissed as untimely the portion seeking review of the state court order, and imposed a $2,500 penalty against attorney Roberts for filing a frivolous application.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the Court of Appeals may review magistrate-court orders directly	Amoakuh sought direct appellate review in the Court of Appeals of several magistrate orders	FNMA maintained that magistrate orders must be appealed first to state or superior court	Transferred the magistrate-order claims to Fulton County State Court (Court of Appeals lacks jurisdiction to review them directly)
Whether the state-court appeal was timely	Amoakuh argued for review despite delay	FNMA asserted the dispossessory appeal deadline had passed	Dismissed the state-court appeal portion as untimely (filed 178 days after order; seven-day rule applies)
Whether procedural filing rules were violated (Rules 31(e) & 41(b))	Amoakuh filed combined motions and omitted a required order copy	FNMA noted Rule violations and improper procedural posture	Court declined to consider the alternative remand motion and noted Rule 31(e) omission; transferred only permissible portions
Whether sanctions were appropriate for filing a frivolous application	Amoakuh/Roberts proceeded despite prior warnings and governing law	FNMA implied application was frivolous and counsel disregarded prior guidance	Imposed $2,500 penalty against attorney Grady Roberts under Court of Appeals Rule 15

Handler v. Hulsey, 199 Ga. App. 751 (recognizing de novo appeal to state or superior court is the sole route from magistrate judgment)
Bosma v. Gunter, 258 Ga. 664 (constitutional duty to transfer cases to proper court when jurisdiction or venue lies elsewhere)
Ray M. Wright, Inc. v. Jones, 239 Ga. App. 521 (appeals from dispossessory judgments must be filed within seven days)