Opinion
A23A1338
07-12-2023
CHRISTOPHER L. CAREATHERS v. KEVIN D. MONTGOMERY et al.
The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:
Christopher L. Careathers sued two City of Rockmart police officers in their official and individual capacities, pursuant to 42 USC § 1983, for malicious prosecution, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and false imprisonment. The defendants filed a motion to dismiss or, in the alternative, for summary judgment. On June 13, 2022, the trial court granted the defendants' motion for summary judgment as to all claims and dismissed the complaint. On June 22, 2022, Careathers filed a motion for reconsideration, which the court denied on November 3, 2022. On December 2, 2022, Careathers filed this appeal. We, however, lack jurisdiction.
A notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days of the entry of the appealable decision. 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). Careathers's failure to file a notice of appeal within 30 days of the entry of the superior court's order granting summary judgment deprives us of jurisdiction. Although Careathers filed the appeal within 30 days of the order denying the motion for reconsideration, the denial of such a motion is not a directly appealable judgment and the filing of such a motion does not toll the time for filing a direct appeal. 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 the above reasons, this appeal is hereby DISMISSED for lack of jurisdiction.