Opinion
A24A0303
10-20-2023
JOHNNY BRYANT v. BOBBIE J. BRYANT.
The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:
Following the death of her husband, Bobbie J. Bryant petitioned the probate court for a year's support. The matter was ultimately appealed to the superior court,and on June 30, 2023, the superior court issued a final order awarding Bobbie a year's support. Johnny Bryant, the adult son of the decedent, filed a motion for reconsideration, which the superior court denied on August 14, 2023. Johnny filed this appeal on August 25, 2023. We lack jurisdiction.
See OCGA §§ 5-3-4 (a); 15-9-120 (2) (providing for appeals from certain probate court cases to superior courts).
A notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days of entry of an appealable order or judgment. OCGA § 5-6-38 (a). "The proper and timely filing of a notice of appeal is an absolute requirement to confer jurisdiction upon an appellate court." Perlman v. Perlman, 318 Ga.App. 731, 739 (4) (734 S.E.2d 560) (2012) (citation and punctuation omitted). Here, Johnny filed his notice of appeal 56 days after entry of the superior court's final order. Although he filed a motion for reconsideration, motions for reconsideration do not extend the time for filing an appeal from the underlying decision, and an order resolving the motion for reconsideration is not itself a directly appealable judgment. See Ferguson v. Freeman, 282 Ga. 180, 181 (1) (646 S.E.2d 65) (2007); Bell v. Cohran, 244 Ga.App. 510, 510 (536 S.E.2d 187) (2000). For these reasons, we lack jurisdiction to entertain this appeal, which is hereby DISMISSED.