In Re: Travis Bernard Fraley

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: October 10, 2023
• Docket: A24A0039
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ October 10, 2023

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A24A0039. IN RE: TRAVIS BERNARD FRALEY.

On March 23, 2023, the trial court issued an order changing the appellant’s name from “TRAVIS BERNARD FRALEY” to “TRAVIS FRALEY.” The appellant then submitted a “letter” in which he argued that the trial court should have changed his name to include upper-case and lower-case letters. On April 3, 2023, the trial court issued an order ruling that it could not change the appellant’s name in this manner. The appellant then filed a motion for reconsideration of the trial court’s refusal to change his name in this manner. On May 10, 2023, the trial court issued an order denying the motion for reconsideration. The appellant then filed “objections” to the trial court’s rulings. On May 26, 2023, the trial court issued an order stating that it would not continue to issue orders on the capitalization issue. On June 12, 2023, the appellant filed a notice of appeal of the trial court’s rulings. We lack jurisdiction because the appeal is untimely. A notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days of entry of an appealable order. OCGA § 5-6-38 (a). The denial of a motion for reconsideration is not appealable in its own right, see Bell v. Cohran, 244 Ga. App. 510, 511 (536 SE2d 187) (2000), and the filing of such a motion does not extend the time for filing a notice of appeal. See Cheeley-Towns v. Rapid Group, 212 Ga. App. 183, 183 (1) (441 SE2d 452) (1994). The proper and timely filing of a notice of appeal is an absolute requirement to confer jurisdiction upon an appellate court. See Couch v. United Paperworkers Intl. Union, 224 Ga. App. 721, 721 (482 SE2d 704) (1997). Here, the appellant filed his notice of appeal 81 days after the trial court’s order changing his name, and his subsequent requests for reconsideration of that ruling did not extend the time for filing an appeal. Thus, this appeal is untimely and is hereby DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 10/10/2023 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.