SPRING-U BONDING COMPANY, INC. v. State , 200 Ga. App. 533 ( 1991 )

Banke,

Presiding Judge, dissenting.

The appellant in this case did not move to set aside or vacate a bond forfeiture “proceeding.” Rather, it moved to set aside a bond forfeiture on the ground that the criminal bond at issue guaranteed the criminal defendant’s appearance in a court other than the one in which the forfeiture had been declared. It is apparent both from the record and from the appellant’s brief in this court that this was the appellant’s entire defense to the appellee’s claim against it. Thus, the denial of the appellant’s motion did not constitute a determination by the court that the proceedings should be allowed to continue; rather, it constituted a determination that the appellee was entitled to judgment against the appellant as the surety on the bond.

Decided July 16, 1991. Richard L. Moore, for appellant. Patrick H. Head, Solicitor, for appellee.

While it is true that the no-money judgment has yet been entered against the appellant, the entry of such a judgment at this point would be a purely ministerial exercise, involving no further adjudication of any issues by the trial court. This court has previously held that “even though an order does not specify that it is a grant of final judgment, it nevertheless constitutes a final judgment within the meaning of the statute where it leaves no issues remaining to be resolved, constitutes the court’s final ruling on the merits of the action, and leaves the parties with no further recourse in the trial court. [Cit.]” Caswell v. Caswell, 157 Ga. App. 710 (278 SE2d 452) (1981). See also Herring v. Herring, 143 Ga. App. 286 (1) (238 SE2d 240) (1977).

Believing that the order appealed from falls squarely into this category and that our refusal to address the merits of the appeal at this time will serve no purpose other than to delay the ultimate resolution of the litigation, I respectfully dissent to the dismissal of the appeal.