REBECCA EDWARDS SMITH v. ADEWUNMI O. SOBOWALE

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: March 27, 2023
• Docket: A23A1104
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ March 27, 2023

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A23A1104. REBECCA EDWARDS SMITH et al. v. ADEWUNMI O. SOBOWALE.

On May 26, 2022, the trial court entered final judgment on a jury verdict in favor of plaintiff Rebecca Edwards Smith et al. against defendant Adewunmi O. Sobowale.1 Smith thereafter filed a motion for attorney fees pursuant to OCGA § 9- 11-68, which the trial court denied on August 19, 2022. Smith then filed a motion for reconsideration of the attorney fee ruling. The court denied the motion for reconsideration on January 20, 2023, and Smith filed this appeal on February 9, 2023. We, however, lack jurisdiction. OCGA § 5-6-38 (a) requires that a notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days of the date of the entry of the order or judgment sought to be appealed. Filing a timely and proper notice of appeal is an absolute requirement to confer jurisdiction upon this Court. Couch v. United Paperworkers Intl.Union, 224 Ga. App. 721 (482 SE2d 704) (1997). “[T]he denial of a motion for reconsideration of an appealable order or judgment is not itself appealable and does not extend the time for filing a notice of appeal.” Savage v. Newsome, 173 Ga. App. 271, 271 (326 SE2d 5) (1985); see Bell v. Cohran, 244 Ga. App. 510, 510 (536 SE2d 187) (2000). Smith filed this appeal 167 days after the trial court entered its final, appealable order on attorney fees. Thus, this appeal is untimely as to the appealable judgment and invalid as to the order denying reconsideration. See OCGA § 5-6-38 (a). We therefore lack jurisdiction

1 Sobowale filed an appeal from the final judgment entered on the verdict. See Case No. A23A0592. over this untimely appeal, which is hereby DISMISSED.2

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 03/27/2023 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.

2 Smith has filed a notice of death stating that Sobowale died on or about February 10, 2023, and a motion to stay the appeal until an estate is formed and an appropriate representative of the estate is appointed. Because we lack jurisdiction over this case, we do not rule on Smith’s motion to stay this appeal.