This Court granted an application for interlocutory review to determine whether there is a conflict between OCGA § 19-7-22 a’s provision that a father seeking to legitimate a child may file a petition to do so in “the superior court of the county of his residence . . .” and Article VI, Section II, Paragraph VI, of the 1983 Georgia Constitution, which declares that venue in a civil case is in the county where the defendant resides, unless the Constitution provides otherwise. Finding that there is a conflict, we find that portion of OCGA § 19-7-22 a to be unconstitutional. See Ga. Constitution of 1983, Art. I, Sec. II, Par. V. Traweek is the father of a minor child born to Holmes. Traweek resides in Houston County; the child resides with Holmes in Dooly County. OCGA § 19-7-22 a reads: “A father of a child born out of wedlock may render the same legitimate by petitioning the superior court of the county of his residence, the county of residence of the child, or, if a petition for the adoption of the child is pending, the county in which the adoption petition is filed for legitimation of the child.” Traweek filed such a petition in the Superior Court of Houston County, naming Holmes as defendant, and seeking to establish paternity, gain visitation rights, and to change the name of the child. Holmes moved to transfer venue to Dooly County, on the basis of her residence there and Article VI, Section II, Paragraph VI, of the 1983 Georgia Constitution. The trial court denied the motion and certified its denial order for immediate review. This appeal followed. See OCGA § 5-6-34 b.
Several constitutional provisions provide for venue: Article VI, Section II, Paragraph I provides for venue in divorce cases; Article VI, Section II, Paragraph II sets forth venue in cases respecting title to land; Article VI, Section II, Paragraph III establishes venue in equity cases; Article VI, Section II, Paragraph IV designates venue in suits against joint obligors, joint tort-feasors, joint promisors, copartners, and joint trespassers; and Article VI, Section II, Paragraph V assigns venue in suits against the maker, endorsor, drawer, or acceptor of certain financial instruments. Article VI, Section II, Paragraph VI provides that “all other civil cases . . . shall be tried in the county where the defendant resides . . . .” A legitimation proceeding does not fall into any of the categories of cases for which venue has specifically been provided in the Constitution, and thus it falls under Article VI, Section II, Paragraph VI’s provision for “all other civil cases.”
