Sharon Allison and her attorneys were sanctioned after a lengthy discovery dispute over efforts to locate and serve Allison’s co-defendant in a personal-injury action. The trial court awarded about $15,000 in attorney fees, later held Allison and counsel in contempt for failing to pay, and struck Allison’s answer. The Georgia Court of Appeals held that it had jurisdiction to review the earlier orders through the direct appeal from contempt. It concluded, however, that the trial court had not previously issued an order compelling the discovery responses. The earlier order merely said that the court would consider a motion to compel and possible fees if the information was not produced. Because no qualifying order had been entered, attorney fees could not be awarded under the discovery-sanctions statute. The court also held that the parties had not been given a meaningful opportunity to contest an award under that statute because the trial court had initially described the sanction as contempt and changed theories later. The fee award was reversed, and the contempt order and sanction striking Allison’s answer necessarily fell with it. The court affirmed denial of the venue transfer and found the service issue moot because the co-defendant had been personally served. The judgment was affirmed in part and reversed in part.