Georgia Court of Appeals, 2016

Community & Southern Bank v. Virgil E. Lovell

Community & Southern Bank v. Virgil E. Lovell
Georgia Court of Appeals · Decided October 28, 2016

Community & Southern Bank v. Virgil E. Lovell

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia ATLANTA,____________________ October 28, 2016 The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A16A0749. Community & Southern Bank v. Lovell et al.

Community & Southern Bank (“CSB”) sued Virgil E. Lovell, Carol O. Lovell, and various entities in which the Lovells held a financial interest, alleging fraudulent transfer, equitable cancellation of several deeds, and other claims relating to the conveyance of certain real property. The Lovell defendants moved to dismiss seven of the complaint’s fifteen counts for failure to state a claim. The trial court dismissed the counts, but issued a certificate of immediate review, and we granted CSB’s interlocutory application. A primary issue on appeal is whether the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 19891 preempts two Georgia statutes, OCGA §§ 18-2-79 and 44-12-24.

Upon review of the case, we conclude that we lack jurisdiction. Our Supreme Court has exclusive jurisdiction over appeals “involving construction of the Constitution of the State of Georgia and of the United States and all cases in which the constitutionality of a law, ordinance, or constitutional provision has been called into question.”2 In Babies Right Start v. Ga. Dept. of Public Health, the Supreme Court indicated that it has constitutional question jurisdiction over preemption cases such as this, which implicate the Supremacy Clause of the United States

Pub. L. No. 101-73, 103 Stat. 183 (codified as amended through numerous sections of 12 USC).

Atlanta Independent School Sys. v. Lane, 266 Ga. 657 (1) (469 SE2d 22) (1996); Ga. Const. of 1983, Art. VI, Sec. VI, Para. II.

Constitution.3 Accordingly, this appeal is hereby TRANSFERRED to the Supreme Court for disposition.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia 10/28/2016 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.

293 Ga. 553, 554 (1) (748 SE2d 404) (2013) (citing Ward v. McFall, 277 Ga. 649, 651 (1) (593 SE2d 340) (2004)).

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