Elaine Taylor v. Fulton County Probate Court

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: May 13, 2024
• Docket: A24D0314
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ May 13, 2024

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A24D0314. ELAINE TAYLOR et al v. FULTON COUNTY PROBATE COURT.

This application stems from probate court proceedings in which the court appointed Elaine Taylor as guardian and conservator for her adult daughter Lauren Taylor after Lauren was injured while working at a horse show. On March 11, 2024, Elaine and Lauren (“Applicants”) filed this application for discretionary appeal seeking review of seven probate court orders appointing temporary substitute guardians and/or conservators, and a separate probate court order approving the settlement of Lauren’s workers’ compensation claim and establishing a special needs trust.1 These orders were entered between November 1, 2019, and October 26, 2021. We lack jurisdiction because the application is untimely. To be timely, an application for discretionary review must be filed within 30 days of entry of the order at issue. OCGA § 5-6-35 (d). The requirements of OCGA § 5-6-35 are jurisdictional, and this Court cannot accept an application for appeal not made in compliance therewith. Boyle v. State, 190 Ga. App. 734, 734 (380 SE2d 57) (1989). The instant application was untimely filed more than two years after entry of the most recent challenged order.2

1 Appellants filed this application in the Supreme Court, which transferred the case to this Court. See Case No. S24D0737 (Mar. 27, 2024). 2 On February 11, 2022, at Lauren’s request and the recommendation of her temporary substitute conservator, the probate court transferred this matter to a probate court in Missouri, where Lauren resided. In that order, the court also dismissed three notices of appeal to superior court that Applicants had filed in In their application, Applicants also seek an extension of time to file the application, but this request is also untimely and must be denied. See Court of Appeals Rule 31 (h) (“No extensions of time will be granted to file a discretionary application unless a motion for extension is filed on or before the application due date.”) Accordingly, the application is hereby DISMISSED for lack of jurisdiction. Applicants’ motion to strike the response brief of Lauren’s former employer’s workers’ compensation insurance carrier, American Zurich Insurance Company, is DENIED AS MOOT.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 05/13/2024 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.

September and November 2021. It does not appear that these appeals were ever docketed in superior court. In any event, any appeal from the February 11, 2022 order would also be untimely and subject to dismissal.