Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia ATLANTA,__________________ November 13, 2013 The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A14D0111. LEA STRICKLAND v. ROY STRICKLAND, et al.

Roy and Betty Strickland filed a petition for custody of their three grandchildren. The trial court awarded the grandparents permanent custody of the children, and Lea Strickland, the children’s mother, filed a motion for new trial. The trial court denied the motion, and the mother filed this application for discretionary appeal.

Under OCGA § 5-6-34 (a) (11), “[a]ll judgments or orders in child custody cases awarding, refusing to change, or modifying child custody” are directly appealable. A party seeking to challenge an order in a child custody case, therefore, may file a direct appeal. See Cohen v. Cohen, 300 Ga. App. 7, 8 (1) (684 SE2d 94) (2009); Taylor v. Curl, 298 Ga. App. 45 (679 SE2d 80) (2009). We will grant an otherwise timely discretionary application if the lower court’s order is subject to direct appeal. See OCGA § 5-6-35 (j). Accordingly, this application is hereby GRANTED. Strickland shall have ten days from the date of this order to file a notice of appeal with the trial court. If, however, she has already filed a notice of appeal, she need not file a second notice. The clerk of the trial court is DIRECTED to include a copy of this order in the record transmitted to the Court of Appeals.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia 11/13/2013 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.