Franklin v. Carrington Mortgage Services LLC — Appeal Dismissed
Summary
The Georgia Court of Appeals dismissed Ricky R. Franklin's direct appeal from an October 2025 trial court order awarding $14,354.50 in attorney fees to defendants Carrington Mortgage Services LLC and Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB under OCGA § 9-15-14(b). The court held it lacked jurisdiction because appeals from attorney-fee awards require an application for discretionary review under OCGA § 5-6-35(a)(10), which Franklin failed to file, and noncompliance with the discretionary appeals procedure is fatal to appellate jurisdiction.
Georgia practitioners and pro se litigants appealing trial court attorney-fee awards under OCGA § 9-15-14 must initiate the process by filing an application for discretionary review — not a direct appeal — to vest the Court of Appeals with jurisdiction. Direct appeals from such orders are dismissed for lack of jurisdiction without reaching the merits, as occurred here.
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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 dismissed Franklin's appeal for lack of jurisdiction. The court held that appeals from trial court orders awarding attorney fees under OCGA § 9-15-14 must be initiated by filing an application for discretionary review under OCGA § 5-6-35(a)(10), and that compliance with the discretionary appeals procedure is jurisdictional. Because Franklin filed a direct appeal rather than following the required procedure, the court could not reach the merits of his challenge to the $14,354.50 fee award.
Affected parties — primarily appellants seeking review of trial court attorney-fee awards under OCGA § 9-15-14 in Georgia — must follow the mandatory two-step discretionary review process. Failure to file the required application for discretionary review results in dismissal of the appeal, as demonstrated here, regardless of the underlying merits of the fee challenge.
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Apr 23, 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 23, 2026 Get Citation Alerts Download PDF Add Note
RICKY R. FRANKLIN v. CARRINGTON MORTGAGE SERVICES, LLC
Court of Appeals of Georgia
- Citations: None known
- Docket Number: A26A1766
Disposition: Dismissed
Disposition
Dismissed
Combined Opinion
Court of Appeals
of the State of Georgia
ATLANTA,____________________
April 23, 2026
The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:
A26A1766. RICKY R. FRANKLIN v. CARRINGTON MORTGAGE
SERVICES, LLC et al.
In October 2025, the trial court awarded defendants Carrington Mortgage
Services, LLC and Wilmington Savings Fund Society, FSB as Trustee of Stanwich
Mortgage Loan Trust H’s motion for attorney fees pursuant to OCGA § 9-15-14(b),
and ordered plaintiff Ricky R. Franklin to pay $14,354.50 in attorney fees and costs.
Franklin moved for a new trial and to set aside the attorney fee award. The trial court
denied Franklin’s motions, and he filed this direct appeal. We, however, lack
jurisdiction.
An appeal from a trial court order awarding attorney fees under OCGA §
9-15-14 must be initiated by filing an application for discretionary review. OCGA §
5-6-35 (a)(10), (b); Low v. Swift, 367 Ga. App. 874, 876 (889 SE2d 122) (2023).
“Compliance with the discretionary appeals procedure is jurisdictional.” Hair
Restoration Specialists v. State of Ga., 360 Ga. App. 901, 903 (862 SE2d 564) (2021)
(citation and punctuation omitted). And “[f]ailure to file an application when one is
necessary requires that the appeal be dismissed.” Evans v. Jackson, 368 Ga. App. 170,
173 (1)(b) (889 SE2d 343) (2023) (citation and punctuation omitted).
Franklin’s failure to comply with the discretionary appeals procedure deprives
us of jurisdiction over this appeal, which is hereby DISMISSED.
Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia
Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________
04/23/2026
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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