Supreme Court of Georgia, 1986

City of Brunswick v. Todd

Supreme Court of Georgia · Decided February 18, 1986 · No. 42561 · Smith

339 S.E.2d 589; 255 Ga. 448; 1986 Ga. LEXIS 561 (South Eastern Reporter, Second Series)

Cases that cite this one

36 later published cases cite this decision. The 25 that cite it most often are listed here.

Robinwood, Inc. v. Baker (Ga. Ct. App. 1992)
Pathfinder Payment Solutions, Inc. v. Global Payments Direct, Inc. (Ga. Ct. App. 2018)
Bales v. Shelton (Ga. 1990)
Honester v. Tinsley (Ga. Ct. App. 1987)
Vaughn v. Cable East Point, Inc. (Ga. Ct. App. 1987)
Lee v. Britt (Ga. 1991)
ERICA DURHAM v. DOLLAR TREE STORES, INC. (Ga. Ct. App. 2021)
Robert Taylor v. Douglas R. Daum (Ga. Ct. App. 2020)
Christopher Griffin v. Luz Maria Ortiz (Ga. Ct. App. 2019)
Paul K. Tamaroff v. Ronaldo P. Cupertino, Jr. (Ga. Ct. App. 2018)
Juan M. Diaz v. E. Kathleen Taylor (Ga. Ct. App. 2018)
Ezra Johnson v. Ukeju Chi-Ukpai (Ga. Ct. App. 2014)
Pam Burrell v. Consumer Portfolio Services (Ga. Ct. App. 2014)
Janice Jones v. Whitney Brown (Ga. Ct. App. 2014)
Eddie Jones v. Whitney Brown (Ga. Ct. App. 2014)
Brittney T. Mitchner v. Arrielle Rachelle Lewis (Ga. Ct. App. 2014)
Veronica C. McClenon v. Stacy R. Avant (Ga. Ct. App. 2013)
Cooney v. Burnham (Ga. 2008)
Harpagon Co., LLC v. Davis (Ga. 2008)
Department of Human Resources v. Prince (Ga. Ct. App. 1991)
Service Truck Brokers v. Kellco Transportation, Inc. (Ga. Ct. App. 1990)
McClure v. Gower (Ga. 1989)
Smathers v. City of Lawrenceville Housing Authority (Ga. Ct. App. 1989)
Jones v. Padgett (Ga. Ct. App. 1988)
Whitley v. Bank South, N. A. (Ga. Ct. App. 1988)

This list shows which later cases cite this one. It does not say how they treated it, and no review of that has been done. Not a substitute for Shepard’s or KeyCite — verify before relying.

Opinion

Smith, Justice.

We granted certiorari in this case to determine the proper application of the monetary “yardstick” found in OCGA § 5-6-35 (a) (6). The Court of Appeals found that the monetary amount placed in controversy by the party seeking damages determines the proper method for seeking appellate review under subsection (a) (6). Todd v. City of Brunswick, 175 Ga. App. 562 (334 SE2d 1) (1985). We affirm the judgment, but for different reasons. 1

OCGA § 5-6-35 provides: “(a) Appeals in the following cases shall be taken as provided by this code section [i.e., by application]: . . . (6) Appeals in all actions for damages in which the judgment is $2,500 or less.” “A judgment is the final result of pleadings, evidence and law in the case.” Blandford & Thornton v. McGehee, 67 Ga. 84, 88 (1881) (emphasis in original). A judgment is not relief sought in a complaint or counterclaim. “Judgment,” for the purposes of this code section, relates to the final result of an action for damages.

“Judgment” is modified by “$2,500 or less,” OCGA § 5-6-35 (a), and thus applies to actions in which the money judgment is one cent through $2,500. The legislature’s intent was to lessen the load on the appellate courts by altering the appeals process in a given class of cases, not to penalize plaintiffs in all cases. We hold that OCGA § 5-6-35 (a) (6) sets out the proper method of appeal from monetary judgments ranging from one cent to $2,500.

Judgment affirmed.

All the Justices concur. *449 Edward, E. Boshears, for appellee.

See Brown v. Assoc. Financial Services Corp., 255 Ga. 458 (339 SE2d 590) (1986).

Case-law data current through September 30, 2026. Source: CourtListener bulk data.