In this civil action, Windsor Credit Services filed a petition to foreclose on a motor vehicle purchased by Grady Roberts after Roberts failed to make payments that were due pursuant to a financing agreement. In Case No. A09A2031, Roberts appeals the trial court’s denial of his motion to dismiss Windsor Credit’s petition and his motion to set aside the judgment, arguing that the motions should have been granted because Windsor Credit failed to effect proper service of process and because Windsor Credit was not in privity of contract with him and did not possess a security interest in the vehicle. In Case No. A09A2032, Roberts appeals the trial court’s order setting the amount for him to pay into the court’s registry pending his appeal in Case No. A09A2031, arguing that the trial court misinterpreted the statute regarding such payments.1 Because these two appeals involve the same parties, set of facts, and principles of law, we consolidate them for review. The record shows that Roberts purchased the subject motor vehicle on May 20, 2003, pursuant to a financing agreement with Mercedes Benz Credit Corporation. In April 2007, he began defaulting on the payments due under the agreement. Consequently, on September 24, 2008, Windsor Credit, acting on behalf of Mercedes Benz Credit Corporation, filed a petition for foreclosure on the vehicle in the State Court of Fulton County. Roberts was served via tack and mail, pursuant to OCGA § 44-14-232 a, and filed an answer on November 10, 2008. On December 9, 2008, the trial court held a hearing on the matter, during which Roberts moved for dismissal of the petition on the ground that Windsor Credit had failed to perfect service of process and thus the trial court did not have personal jurisdiction over him. On that same day, the court denied Roberts’s motion and issued an order granting Windsor Credit’s foreclosure petition. In addition, the court also issued a writ of possession to Windsor Credit and a turnover order, directing Roberts to turn over the vehicle to the sheriff.
On December 15, 2008, Roberts filed a motion to set aside the judgment, arguing, again, that service of process was insufficient and that Windsor Credit had failed to prove that it was in privity of contract with him. That same day, Roberts filed a notice of appeal to the Superior Court of Fulton County, stating that he was appealing the trial court’s December 9, 2008 order. On January 20, 2009, after a hearing, the court denied Roberts’s motion to set aside the judgment. On February 24, 2009, the trial court dismissed his appeal to the Superior Court, and on that same day, Roberts filed a notice of appeal to this Court, stating that he was appealing the dismissal of his earlier notice of appeal and the denial of his motion to set aside the judgment.
