Opinion
A23D0119
11-29-2022
KEVIN STALLWORTH v. KARNITHA N. HAMMOND et al.
The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:
On August 12, 2022, the trial court entered an order dismissing Kevin Stallworth's petition for legitimation. Stallworth filed a motion for reconsideration, which the trial court denied on September 26, 2022. Stallworth filed the instant application for discretionary appeal on November 4, 2022, seeking review of the trial court's order denying his motion for reconsideration. We, however, lack jurisdiction.
Stallworth appears to argue that he did not receive notice of the hearing that occurred on August 12, 2022, and that he did not receive the trial court's order entered on that date. If his right to timely seek appellate review was frustrated due to a trial court error, his remedy is to petition the trial court to vacate and re-enter the order at issue in the manner described in Cambron v. Canal Ins. Co., 246 Ga. 147, 148-149 (1) (269 S.E.2d 426) (1980).
Neither Stallworth's petition for legitimation nor his motion for reconsideration is included in the application materials, in violation of Court of Appeals Rule 31 (e).
To be timely, a discretionary application must be filed within 30 days of the entry of the order, decision, or judgment sought to be appealed. OCGA § 5-6-35 (d). This statutory deadline is jurisdictional, and this Court cannot accept an application for appeal not made in compliance with OCGA § 5-6-35 (d). See In the Interest of B. R. F., 299 Ga. 294, 298 (788 S.E.2d 416) (2016) (holding that an appellate court lacks jurisdiction over an untimely application for discretionary appeal); Hair Restoration Specialists v. State, 360 Ga.App. 901, 903 (862 S.E.2d 564) (2021) (compliance with the discretionary appeals procedure is jurisdictional, and failure to comply with that procedure requires dismissal of the appeal). Moreover, the denial of a motion for reconsideration of an appealable order or judgment is not itself appealable and the filing of a motion for reconsideration does not extend the time for filing a discretionary application for appeal. See Bell v. Cohran, 244 Ga.App. 510, 511 (536 S.E.2d 187) (2000); Savage v. Newsome, 173 Ga.App. 271, 271 (326 S.E.2d 5) (1985).
Because Stallworth's application was filed 84 days after the order dismissing his petition for legitimation and the order he seeks to appeal is not directly appealable, we lack jurisdiction to consider it. Accordingly, this application is hereby DISMISSED.