Opinion
A23A0703
01-03-2023
ELIZABETH DENISE CALDON SORKNESS v. THE BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM OF GEORGIA.
The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:
This is the second appearance of this "whistleblower" action in this Court. In the first, the trial court granted summary judgment to the defendant, the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. We affirmed the trial court's judgment. Caldon v. Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, 311 Ga.App. 155 (715 S.E.2d 487) (2011). In November 2021, Sorkness filed her "Seventh Motion to Lift Protective Orders," which she later amended. The trial court denied the motion on June 22, 2022. Sorkness filed a notice of appeal on July 25, 2022. We lack jurisdiction.
In all of the previous motions, Sorkness attempted to lift the same protective orders entered in the case. The trial court denied all of the prior motions, and Sorkness did not appeal those orders.
To be timely, a notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days after entry of the appealable order. See 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. See Couch v. United Paperworkers Intl. Union, 224 Ga.App. 721, 721 (482 S.E.2d 704) (1997). Because Sorkness filed her notice of appeal 33 days after entry of the order she seeks to appeal, this appeal is untimely.
Accordingly, we lack jurisdiction to consider this appeal, which is hereby DISMISSED.