In the Interest of K. M. D., a Child

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: March 7, 2022
• Docket: A22A0883
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ March 07, 2022

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A22A0883. IN THE INTEREST OF K. M. D., A CHILD.

Appellants Keith and Christine Owen (“the Owens”) filed a petition to adopt K. M. D. in Union County Superior Court, and they moved for immediate temporary custody. On April 12, 2021, the superior court denied the motion for temporary custody, finding that it lacked jurisdiction to consider the case since K. M. D. was in the custody of Upson County Department of Family and Children’s Services. The Owens filed a motion for reconsideration from the ruling. On July 6, 2021, the superior court denied the motion for reconsideration and dismissed the action. The Owens filed a second motion for reconsideration. In addition to reiterating arguments raised in the prior motion for reconsideration, the Owens sought the judge’s recusal. The trial court denied the second motion for reconsideration on August 31, 2021, and the Owens filed a notice of appeal on September 20, 2021. We lack jurisdiction. A notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days after the entry of an appealable order. OCGA § 5-6-38 (a). “The proper and timely filing of a notice of appeal is an absolute requirement to confer jurisdiction upon an appellate court.” Perlman v. Perlman, 318 Ga. App. 731, 739 (4) (734 SE2d 560) (2012) (punctuation omitted). Here, the Owens filed their notice of appeal within 30 days of the trial court’s order denying the second motion for reconsideration. However, the filing of a motion for reconsideration does not extend the time for filing a notice of appeal, and the denial of a motion for reconsideration is not itself a directly appealable order. See Bell v. Cohran, 244 Ga. App. 510, 511 (536 SE2d 187) (2000); Savage v. Newsome, 173 Ga. App. 271, 271 (326 SE2d 5) (1985). Because the trial court dismissed the action on July 6, 2021, the Owens were required to file a notice of appeal within 30 days of that date. Their failure to do so deprives us of jurisdiction over this appeal, which is hereby DISMISSED.1

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 03/07/2022 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.

1 The fact that the Owens sought the judge’s recusal in their second motion for reconsideration does not change the result. The trial court’s order, in substance, served only to deny the motion for reconsideration as the trial court did not address the issue of recusal. See Forest City Gun Club v. Chatham County, 280 Ga. App. 219, 220 (633 SE2d 623) (2006) (appellate court construes orders according to substance and function). Furthermore, any motion to recuse made after final judgment would be untimely. See Jarallah v. Pickett Suite Hotel, 193 Ga. App. 325, 327 (3) (388 SE2d 333) (1989).