Downey Trees Inc v Stephens - Case Remanded to Forsyth County State Court
Summary
The Georgia Court of Appeals granted appellee Jermaine Stephens' Motion to Remand in case A26A1312, ordering the case returned to the State Court of Forsyth County. The ruling allows either party to file a notice of appeal within 30 days of resolution of the pending motion to enforce settlement. This is a procedural remand order that returns the case to the lower court for further proceedings rather than a substantive ruling on the merits.
“Either party may file a notice of appeal within 30 days of resolution of the pending motion to enforce settlement.”
About this source
The Georgia Court of Appeals hears every appeal from Georgia's superior, state, juvenile, and probate courts. The court sits in three divisions and publishes around 310 opinions a month spanning civil, criminal, family, business tort, and administrative cases. Georgia's economy and legal market mean the court generates significant precedent that shapes commercial litigation across the southeast. GovPing tracks every published opinion via CourtListener's mirror, with the case name, parties, division, and outcome. Watch this if you litigate in Georgia, advise multi-state clients on southeastern commercial law, or track family law and business tort trends. Recent: a divorce appeal between Russell and Lauren Nast, a discretionary appeal denied in Blackmon v Dudley, an action against a Toyota dealer in Augusta.
What changed
The Court of Appeals granted appellee's motion to remand, returning case A26A1312 to the State Court of Forsyth County. The court order does not address the merits of the underlying dispute but simply returns the case to the lower court for further proceedings. Either party retains appeal rights, with a 30-day window to file a notice of appeal once the pending settlement enforcement motion is resolved.
For parties involved in similar litigation, this procedural order confirms that appellate courts may remand cases to lower courts even after an appeal is filed, particularly where settlement-related motions remain pending. Practitioners should note the explicit 30-day deadline for filing post-resolution appeal notices, which runs from the date the lower court resolves the settlement motion rather than from the remand order itself.
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Apr 22, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
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April 22, 2026 Get Citation Alerts Download PDF Add Note
Downey Trees, Inc. v. Jermaine Stephens
Court of Appeals of Georgia
- Citations: None known
- Docket Number: A26A1312
Disposition: Remanded
Disposition
Remanded
Combined Opinion
Court of Appeals
of the State of Georgia
ATLANTA,____________________
April 22, 2026
The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:
A26A1312. DOWNEY TREES, INC. v. STEPHENS.
Upon consideration of Appellee’s Motion to Remand, the same is hereby
GRANTED. The Clerk is ORDERED to remand this case to the State Court of
Forsyth County. Either party may file a notice of appeal within 30 days of resolution
of the pending motion to enforce settlement.
Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia
Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________
04/22/2026
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.
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Source document text, dates, docket IDs, and authority are extracted directly from GA Court of Appeals.
The summary, classification, recommended actions, deadlines, and penalty information are AI-generated from the original text and may contain errors. Always verify against the source document.
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