ESTATE OF MINNIE LEE TOMLINSON v. HOUSTON HEALTHCARE SYSTEM, INC.

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: February 10, 2026
• Docket: A26A1158
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ February 10, 2026

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A26A1158. ESTATE OF MINNIE LEE TOMLINSON et al v. HOUSTON HEALTHCARE SYSTEM, INC.

The Estate of Minnie Lee Tomlinson, by and through its executrix, Cynthia Gouge Morrison, (the “Estate”) sued Houston Healthcare (the “Hospital”) for negligence and other claims.1 On July 21, 2025, the trial count entered an order granting the Hospital’s motion for summary judgment and the Estate filed a motion for reconsideration. The trial court denied the Estate’s reconsideration motion on September 10, 2025, stating that “it remains the finding of the Court that its grant of summary judgment was proper.” On October 8, 2025, the Estate filed a notice of appeal, seeking to appeal the September 10 order. 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 appellate jurisdiction on this Court. Perlman v. Perlman, 318 Ga. App. 731, 739 (4) (734 SE2d 560) (2012). While the grant of summary judgment is subject to direct appeal under OCGA § 9-11-56 (h), in this case, the Estate did not file its notice of appeal until 79 days after the court’s July 21 summary judgment order. And though the Estate filed its appeal within 30 days of the order denying its motion for reconsideration, the denial of such a motion is not subject to direct appeal. See Ferguson v. Freeman, 282 Ga. 180, 181 (1) (646

1 This case was previously before this Court in Estate of Tomlinson v. Houston Healthcare, 372 Ga. App. 587 (905 SE2d 664) (2024). SE2d 65) (2007); Bell v. Cohran, 244 Ga. App. 510, 511 (536 SE2d 187) (2000). Moreover, the filing of a motion for reconsideration does not toll the time for filing a direct appeal. Ferguson, 282 Ga. at 181 (1). Accordingly, the Estate’s failure to file a timely notice of appeal as to the summary judgment order deprives us of jurisdiction over this appeal, which is hereby DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 02/10/2026 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.