Chrimisha Grubbs v. Lawrence Chen

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: October 2, 2024
• Docket: A25A0425
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ October 02, 2024

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A25A0425. CHRIMISHA GRUBBS v. LAWRENCE CHEN.

In this tort action, the trial court entered a judgment for plaintiff Chrimisha Grubbs on March 19, 2024. Grubbs asked the trial court to reconsider the amount of its judgment, which was denied. On May 1, 2024, Grubbs filed this direct appeal to challenge the denial of her motion for reconsideration. We lack jurisdiction. 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 on this Court. Perlman v. Perlman, 318 Ga. App. 731, 739 (4) (734 SE2d 560) (2012). While a final judgment is generally subject to direct appeal, see OCGA § 5-6-34 (a) (1), a motion for reconsideration does not extend the time for filing an appellate challenge to an appealable order, and the denial of a motion for reconsideration is not appealable in its own right. See Bell v. Cohran, 244 Ga. App. 510, 510-511 (536 SE2d 187) (2000); Savage v. Newsome, 173 Ga. App. 271, 271 (326 SE2d 5) (1985). Consequently, the trial court’s order denying Grubb’s motion for reconsideration is not appealable and her notice of appeal — filed 43 days after the entry of final judgment — is untimely as to that order. See OCGA § 5-6-38 (a); Bell, 244 Ga. App. at 510-511; Savage, 173 Ga. App. at 271. Accordingly, this appeal is hereby DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 10/02/2024 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.