Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia ATLANTA,__________________ February 24, 2014 The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A14I0114. EFFINGHAM COUNTY, GEORGIA v. BENJAMIN ROACH, CHAPTER 7 BANKRUPTCY TRUSTEE.

Benjamin Roach, in his capacity as Bankruptcy Trustee, filed a civil action against several defendants, including Effingham County. The County filed a renewed motion for summary judgment on the plaintiff’s breach of contract claim, arguing that it is barred by the doctrine of sovereign immunity. The trial court denied the motion, and the County now seeks interlocutory review of this ruling.

In Board of Regents v. Canas, 295 Ga. App. 505, 507 (1) (672 SE2d 471) (2009), we held that, under the collateral order doctrine, a defendant may directly appeal an order denying a motion to dismiss based on a determination that the defendant is not immune from suit on the basis of sovereign immunity. Our decision hinged on the principle that “sovereign immunity is an immunity from suit, rather than a mere defense to liability, and is effectively lost if a case is erroneously permitted to go to trial.” (Citation omitted.) Id. Here, the trial court explicitly found that the County’s claim of sovereign immunity is “moot.” This conclusive determination is directly appealable as a collateral order. See id. “This Court will grant a timely application for interlocutory review if the order complained of is subject to direct appeal and the applicants have not otherwise filed a notice of appeal.” Spivey v. Hembree, 268 Ga. App. 485, 486 n. 1 (602 SE2d 246) (2004). Accordingly, the County’s application for interlocutory appeal is hereby GRANTED.

The County shall have ten days from the date of this order to file a notice of appeal in the trial court. If, however, the County has already filed a notice of appeal from the order at issue, it 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 this Court.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia 02/24/2014 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.