Opinion
A23A1457
10-12-2023
JAMARCUS MCCRAY et al. v. APRIL THOMAS.
The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:
In February 2022, after the trial court approved a settlement agreement in this wrongful death suit, Taffany McCray, as the next friend and natural parent of then-minor child Jamarcus McCray, and Carla Williams, as the executor of the decedent's estate, filed a motion for equitable division of attorney fees. On August 30, 2022, the trial court, inter alia, denied the motion for equitable division of attorney fees, and Jamarcus McCray and Carla Williams filed a motion for reconsideration. On February 8, 2023, the trial court denied the motion for reconsideration, and Jamarcus McCray and Carla Williams thereafter filed this appeal, purporting to appeal from the August 30, 2022 order on attorney fees and the February 8, 2023 order denying reconsideration. We 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). Even assuming that the August 30, 2022 order on attorney fees was subject to direct appeal, no notice of appeal was filed within 30 days of that order. Although a notice of appeal was filed within 30 days of the February 8, 2023 order denying reconsideration, the denial of a motion for reconsideration 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). Accordingly, this appeal is hereby DISMISSED for lack of jurisdiction.