Disqualification Order Isn’t Final And Can’t Be Appealed Immediately

A trial court order disqualifying a litigant’s counsel is not immediately appealable as a final judgment or under the collateral order doctrine, the Georgia Court of Appeals decided Nov. 13 (Settendown Pub. Util., LLC v. Waterscape Util., LLC, 2013 BL 314088, Ga. Ct. App., No. A13A0830).

Writing for the court, Judge Elizabeth L. Branch rejected the argument that “there is a conflict in Georgia law on the issue of whether a disqualification order is directly appealable.”

A 1987 Georgia Supreme Court opinion did describe disqualification orders as “immediately appealable,” but that statement was “unsupported by any citation to ...