Bobby Brown v. Velocity Investments, LLC, Assignee of Upstart Network, Inc.

Court of Appeals
of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________
June 08, 2026

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A26A2080. BOBBY BROWN v. VELOCITY INVESTMENTS, LLC,
ASSIGNEE OF UPSTART NETWORK, INC.

Velocity Investments, LLC, as assignee of Upstart Network, Inc., (“Velocity”)
filed suit against Bobby Brown to recover on a loan agreement. On January 20, 2026,
the trial court granted Velocity’s motion for summary judgment, awarding $1,450.96
in principal, $190.61 in interest and fees, and $268.00 in court costs. On April 20,
2026, Brown filed a document titled “Notice to Appeal,” and this case was
transmitted from the trial court.1 To the extent Brown seeks to appeal the trial court’s
summary judgment ruling — the only order included in the record — we lack
jurisdiction for two reasons.
First, Brown’s appeal is untimely. A notice of appeal must be filed within 30
days of entry of the judgment or trial court order sought to be appealed. OCGA §
5-6-38(a). The proper and timely filing of a notice of appeal is an absolute requirement
to confer jurisdiction upon this Court. Yanes v. Escobar, 362 Ga. App. 896, 898 (870
SE2d 506) (2022). Here, however, Brown did not file his notice of appeal until 90 days
after entry of the trial court’s order.
Second, under OCGA § 5-6-35 (a) (6), appeals in actions for damages in which
the judgment is $10,000 or less must be initiated by filing an application for
discretionary appeal. See Anderson v. Laureano, 342 Ga. App. 888, 888 (805 SE2d

1
Although the trial court treated the filing as a notice of appeal, the document
did not satisfy the requirements of OCGA § 5-6-37, because it failed to include the
title of the case or the order sought to be appealed.
636) (2017). “Compliance with the discretionary appeals procedure is jurisdictional.”
Smoak v. Dept. of Human Resources, 221 Ga. App. 257, 257 (471 SE2d 60) (1996).
Here, the trial court’s judgment does not meet the damages threshold. Brown was
thus required to comply with the discretionary appeal procedures.
For these reasons, we lack jurisdiction over this appeal, which is hereby
DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia
Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________
06/08/2026
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.