Laster v. National Collegiate Student Loan Trust

The superior court should have transferred the defendants' appeal from a state court summary judgment order to the Court of Appeals for review, instead of dismissing it for lack of jurisdiction.

Thank you for sharing!

Your article was successfully shared with the contacts you provided.

Appellee National Collegiate Student Loan Trust 2005-3 brought a suit on account and agreement in the State Court of Sumter County against Justin and Linda Laster after they allegedly defaulted on their student education loans. The state court granted summary judgment to appellee, and the Lasters, acting pro se, filed an appeal from that order to the Superior Court of Sumter County. The superior court dismissed the case, based on a finding that it had no jurisdiction to review an order granting summary judgment in a civil case such as the one here. The Lasters, again acting pro se, have filed separate appeals to this Court from that order, which we have consolidated for review.

The Georgia Constitution requires that “any court shall transfer to the appropriate court in the state any civil case in which it determines that jurisdiction or venue lies elsewhere.” Ga. Const. of 1983, Art. VI, Sec. I, Par. VIII. Thus, instead of dismissing the Lasters’ appeal, the superior court should have transferred the case to this Court for review. Blackmon, 284 Ga. 369, 371-372 667 SE2d 348 2008; Bosma v. Gunter, 258 Ga. 664 373 SE2d 368 1988. “The manifest purpose of Article VI, Section I, Paragraph VIII is to prevent parties from being penalized when their attorneys, or the parties themselves acting pro se, make a mistake regarding the complex, highly technical rules that govern jurisdiction and venue and inadvertently file a case in the wrong court. This case fits that description to a tee.” Blackmon, 284 Ga. at 371. Accordingly, we vacate the order of the superior court dismissing the Lasters’ appeal and remand the case to that court so that their appeal from the state court, including the record transmitted to the superior court as part of that appeal,1 may be transferred to this Court for appellate review.2

Laster v. National Collegiate Student Loan Trust

The superior court should have transferred the defendants' appeal from a state court summary judgment order to the Court of Appeals for review, instead of dismissing it for lack of jurisdiction.

Share with Email

Thank you for sharing!

Trending Stories

More From ALM

Subscribe to Daily Report