Opinion
A24D0314
05-13-2024
ELAINE TAYLOR et al v. FULTON COUNTY PROBATE COURT.
This application stems from probate court proceedings in which the court appointed Elaine Taylor as guardian and conservator for her adult daughter Lauren Taylor after Lauren was injured while working at a horse show. On March 11, 2024, Elaine and Lauren ("Applicants") filed this application for discretionary appeal seeking review of seven probate court orders appointing temporary substitute guardians and/or conservators, and a separate probate court order approving the settlement of Lauren's workers' compensation claim and establishing a special needs trust. These orders were entered between November 1, 2019, and October 26, 2021.
Appellants filed this application in the Supreme Court, which transferred the case to this Court. See Case No. S24D0737 (Mar. 27, 2024).
We lack jurisdiction because the application is untimely. To be timely, an application for discretionary review must be filed within 30 days of entry of the order at issue. OCGA § 5-6-35 (d). The requirements of OCGA § 5-6-35 are jurisdictional, and this Court cannot accept an application for appeal not made in compliance therewith. Boyle v. State, 190 Ga.App. 734, 734 (380 S.E.2d 57) (1989). The instant application was untimely filed more than two years after entry of the most recent challenged order.
On February 11, 2022, at Lauren's request and the recommendation of her temporary substitute conservator, the probate court transferred this matter to a probate court in Missouri, where Lauren resided. In that order, the court also dismissed three notices of appeal to superior court that Applicants had filed in September and November 2021. It does not appear that these appeals were ever docketed in superior court. In any event, any appeal from the February 11, 2022 order would also be untimely and subject to dismissal.
In their application, Applicants also seek an extension of time to file the application, but this request is also untimely and must be denied. See Court of Appeals Rule 31 (h) ("No extensions of time will be granted to file a discretionary application unless a motion for extension is filed on or before the application due date.") Accordingly, the application is hereby DISMISSED for lack of jurisdiction. Applicants' motion to strike the response brief of Lauren's former employer's workers' compensation insurance carrier, American Zurich Insurance Company, is DENIED AS MOOT.