L. LIN WOOD v. NICOLE WADE

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: April 13, 2026
• Docket: A26A1640
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ April 13, 2026

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A26A1640. L. LIN WOOD et al. v. NICOLE WADE et al.

In this civil action, the trial court entered a final judgment of $9,661,177 in favor of the plaintiffs. The trial court later denied L. Lin Wood’s motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict/motion for new trial.1 The plaintiffs moved for supersedeas bond, which the trial court granted on November 5, 2025. On November 12, 2025, Wood filed a motion for reconsideration, which the trial court denied on December 8, 2025. Wood then filed a notice of appeal on December 9, 2025. We, however, 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). In this case, Wood did not file his notice of appeal until 34 days after the court’s November 5 order. And though Wood filed his appeal within 30 days of the order denying his 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 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); see Harned v. Piedmont Healthcare Found., Inc., 356 Ga. App. 870, 872 (849 SE2d 726) (2020) (“It is well settled that motions for reconsideration do not toll the

1 The appeal for this order is docketed in Case No. A26A1639. time period for filing a notice of appeal.”). Accordingly, Wood’s failure to file a timely notice of appeal as to the November 5 supersedeas order deprives us of jurisdiction over this appeal, which is hereby DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 04/13/2026 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.