O.C.G.A.
O.C.G.A.

O.C.G.A. § 5-3-3 (2019)

Persons by whom appeal may be entered generally; attorney’s authority to appeal to be in writing; dismissal for failure to file; ratification of unauthorized appeal

✓ O.C.G.A. — 2019 edition (Public.Resource.Org Release 73)
Code text and O.C.G.A. statutory annotations on this page reflect the 2019 Official Code of Georgia Annotated (Public.Resource.Org Release 73, 2019-08-21; public domain per Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). The Syfert case-law annotations in Notes of Decisions, below, are current.
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section GA-LEGlegis.ga.gov (official) JustiaJustia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

An appeal may be entered by the plaintiff or defendant in person, or by his attorney at law or in fact and, if by the latter, he must be Page: 183 Date: 06/14/13 Time: 10:58:26 GA RV 13 RV 4(T4-6) - EP authorized in writing, which authority shall be filed in the court in which the case is pending at the time the appeal is entered; but if it is shown to the court that the authority exists, the court may allow a reasonable time to file the same. Upon failure to so file, the appeal shall be dismissed and execution shall issue without further order. If the authority is not filed within the time allowed, a ratification of an unauthorized appeal, if made in writing and filed in the clerk’s office before the next term of the court, shall render the appeal valid.

History

(Orig. Code 1863, § 3535; Code 1868, § 3558; Code 1873, § 3615; Code 1882, § 3615; Civil Code 1895, § 4457; Civil Code 1910, § 5002; Code 1933, § 6-104.)

Annotations

JUDICIAL DECISIONS Appeals without written authority. - Former Civil Code 1895, § 4237 and 4457 (see O.C.G.A. § 15-19-5 and 5-3-3, respectively) permitted attorneys at law to enter appeals without written authority. Friar v. Curry, Arrington & Co., 119 Ga. 908, 47 S.E. 206 (1904); Nathan v. Lamb, 18 Ga. App. 39, 88 S.E. 794 (1916). Assessor’s award in condemnation proceedings. - Attorney at law for municipality may file appeal to assessor’s award in condemnation proceedings. Potts v. City of Atlanta, 140 Ga. 431, 79 S.E. 110 (1913). Attorneys in fact cannot enter appeals absent writing sufficiently establishing authority to do so. Lovelady v. Franklin Davis Nursery Co., 113 Ga. 324, 38 S.E. 748 (1901); Lovejoy v. Franklin Davis Nursery Co., 115 Ga. 714, 42 S.E. 151 (1902).

Agent created by parol cannot enter appeal. Cook v. Buchanan, 86 Ga. 760, 13 S.E. 83 (1891). When written authority has been lost, appeal may be ratified. Booten v. Bank of Empire State, 67 Ga. 358 (1881). Agent cannot show authority by ex parte affidavit. Bank of Empire State v. Booten, 52 Ga. 653 (1874). Receiver cannot enter appeal unless receiver is party to proceedings. Dupree v. Drake, 94 Ga. 456, 19 S.E. 242 (1894). Cited in McCoy v. Sasnett, 77 Ga. App. 819, 49 S.E.2d 913 (1948); State Hwy. Dep’t v. Sumner, 102 Ga. App. 1, 115 S.E.2d 787 (1960); State Hwy. Dep’t v. Hester, 112 Ga. App. 51, 143 S.E.2d 658 (1965); Schwindler v. State, 261 Ga. App. 30, 581 S.E.2d 619 (2003).

RESEARCH REFERENCES Am. Jur. 2d. - 5 Am. Jur. 2d, Appellate Review, § 231 et seq. C.J.S. - 4 C.J.S., Appeal and Error, § 325 et seq. ALR. - Right of trustee of express trust to appeal from order or decree not

affecting his own personal interest, 6 ALR2d 147. Attorney’s right to institute or maintain appeal where client refuses to do so, 91 ALR2d 618.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 6 cases (6 in the last 5 years), 2024–2026 · leading case: In Re Est. of Bobby James Farmer (Ga. Ct. App. 2024).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
In Re Est. of Bobby James Farmer (Ga. Ct. App. 2024). · cites it 4× “Instead, appellate jurisdiction over decisions of probate courts in counties with a population of 90,000 or less (other than convictions under OCGA Title 40, Chapter 13, Article 2) lies in superior court.”
Arc Gaming & Tech., LLC v. Hiram Imp, Inc. (Ga. Ct. App. 2025). · cites it 2× “]”OCGA § 5-3-3 (4) (A). Although Arc exhausted its administrative remedies, the case remains pending in arbitration.”
Girls Galore, Inc. v. City of Atlanta (Ga. Ct. App. 2026). · cites it 2× “4 On appeal in this context, “this Court’s duty is not to 4 See generally OCGA § 5-3-4(a) (except as provided, “the superior and state courts shall have appellate jurisdiction pursuant to this chapter over a final judgment of a lower judicatory”); OCGA § 5-3-3(5) (“‘Judicatory’…”
In Re Est. of Kitty Hk Felker (Ga. Ct. App. 2026). · cites it 2× “” OCGA § 5-3-3 (1). That Article provides that such a probate court means a probate court of a county having a population of more than 90,000 persons according to the United States decennial census of 2010 or any future census in which the judge thereof has been admitted to the…”
In Re: Est. of Mary Catherine Bonner (Ga. Ct. App. 2026). · cites it 2× “See OCGA §§ 5-3-3(6), (12); 5-3-4(a); 5-3-5(d); 15-6-8(3)-(4).”
Stephanie Clark v. Coretta Paul Gunn (Ga. Ct. App. 2026). “” OCGA § 5-3-3 (1). That Article provides that such a probate court “means a probate court of a county having a population of more than 90,000 persons according to the United States decennial census of 2010 or any future census in which the judge thereof has 1 We have circulated…”
— 5-3-3(5) — 1 case
Girls Galore, Inc. v. City of Atlanta (Ga. Ct. App. 2026). “4 On appeal in this context, “this Court’s duty is not to 4 See generally OCGA § 5-3-4(a) (except as provided, “the superior and state courts shall have appellate jurisdiction pursuant to this chapter over a final judgment of a lower judicatory”); OCGA § 5-3-3(5) (“‘Judicatory’…”
— 5-3-3(6) — 1 case
In Re: Est. of Mary Catherine Bonner (Ga. Ct. App. 2026). “See OCGA §§ 5-3-3(6), (12); 5-3-4(a); 5-3-5(d); 15-6-8(3)-(4).”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.