Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia ATLANTA,_________________ May 09, 2012 The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A12A0474. AUSTIN v. HUSQVARNA CONSUMER OUTDOOR PRODUCTS, N.A., INC. et al.

Sylvester Austin, a prison inmate proceeding pro se, has filed this direct appeal from an order entered in his civil action. Because Austin is a prisoner, his appeal is controlled by the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1996. OCGA § 42-12-1 et seq.

OCGA § 42-12-8 requires that an appeal of a civil action filed by a prisoner “shall be as provided in Code Section 5-6-35.” Under OCGA § 5-6-35, the party wishing to appeal must file an application for discretionary appeal to the appropriate appellate court. Austin’s failure to file an application for discretionary appeal deprives this court of jurisdiction of his direct appeal, which is therefore dismissed. See Jones v. Townsend, 267 Ga. 489 (480 SE2d 24) (1997).

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia 05/09/2012 Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,_________________ 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.