Jeanne Meyers v. Michelle Wynne Graves

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: January 4, 2021
• Docket: A21A0749
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ January 04, 2021

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A21A0749. JEANNE MEYERS v. MICHELLE WYNNE GRAVES.

In this action by several plaintiffs for libel and various related claims, the trial court issued an order on February 18, 2020, in which, pursuant to OCGA § 9-11- 11.1,1 it struck all of plaintiff Jeanne Meyers’s claims against the defendant. Meyers filed a motion for reconsideration, which the trial court denied on October 13, 2020. On October 22, 2020, Meyers filed this direct appeal. 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). 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 October 13 order is not appealable, and Meyers’s appeal – filed more than 30 days after the court’s February 18 order – is untimely as to the February 18

1 This statute is known as “the anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) statute.” See EarthResources, LLC v. Morgan County, 281 Ga. 396, 397 (638 SE2d 325) (2006). order.2 See OCGA § 5-6-38 (a); Bell, 244 Ga. App. at 510-511; Savage, 173 Ga. App. at 271. For these reasons, Meyers’s direct appeal is hereby DISMISSED for lack of jurisdiction.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 01/04/2021 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.

2 Given our rulings in this regard, we express no opinion on whether the February 18 order was directly appealable under OCGA § 5-6-34 (a) (13) or OCGA § 9-11-11.1 (e).