Philip Seabrian v. Georgia Department of Human Services, Ex Rel. Mykael A. Williams

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: June 3, 2026
• Docket: A26D0546
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ June 03, 2026

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A26D0546. PHILIP SEABRIAN v. GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES, EX REL. MYKAEL A. WILLIAMS.

In this child support recovery action, the trial court entered an order on March 25, 2026, finding Philip Seabrian in wilful contempt for failure to pay child support and ordering him to pay both support and arrearage. Seabrian filed a direct appeal, which we dismissed because he failed to follow the discretionary appeals procedure. Case No. A26A1996 (May 22, 2026). On May 26, 2026, Seabrian filed this application for discretionary appeal seeking to appeal the March 25 trial court order. We, however, lack jurisdiction. Seabrian’s application is untimely. An application for discretionary appeal must be filed within 30 days of entry of the order sought to be appealed. OCGA § 5-6-35 (d). The requirements of OCGA § 5-6-35 are jurisdictional, and this Court cannot accept an application for appeal not made in compliance therewith. Boyle v. State, 190 Ga. App. 734, 734 (380 SE2d 57) (1989). Seabrian’s application was untimely filed 62 days after the trial court’s order. Furthermore, the application essentially seeks an impermissible second appeal of the trial court’s order. See Massey v. Massey, 294 Ga. 163, 165(2) (751 SE2d 330) (2013) (“Where a party puts the machinery of immediate appellate review into motion, yet commits a procedural default fatal to his appeal, that party is foreclosed from thereafter resubmitting the matter for review on appeal. This rule is sometimes framed in terms of res judicata or law of the case, but the appellate issue is more fundamental; a party is not entitled to a second appeal from a single order.”) (citation and punctuation omitted); Aetna Cas. & Sur. Co. v. Bullington, 227 Ga. 485, 485(2) (181 SE2d 495) (1971) (“The effect of the dismissal of the first appeal from an appealable judgment was to affirm the judgment of the trial court there excepted to ... which was res judicata between the parties.”). Accordingly, this application is hereby DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 06/03/2026 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.