HEADHUNTERS MOTOR CLUB, INC. v. TED D. YARBROUGH

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ August 30, 2024

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A25A0245. HEADHUNTERS MOTOR CLUB, INC., et al v. TED D. YARBROUGH.

On April 5, 2023, the trial court entered judgment on a jury verdict in favor of Ted D. Yarbrough and against Headhunters Motor Club, Inc. and three other defendants. The defendants filed a timely motion for new trial, which the trial court denied by order entered on April 15, 2024. Thirty-one days later, on Thursday, May 16, 2024, the defendants filed a notice of appeal. That same day, they filed a motion for an extension of time to file the notice of appeal, stating they had been unable to file their notice the day before because of an after-hours computer crash. The trial court granted the motion and extended the time for filing the notice of appeal through May 16, 2024. The record was then transmitted to this Court. We, however, lack jurisdiction. A notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days of entry of the judgment or trial court order sought to be appealed. OCGA § 5-6-38 (a). The proper and timely filing of a notice of appeal is an absolute requirement to confer appellate jurisdiction on this Court. Perlman v. Perlman, 318 Ga. App. 731, 739 (4) (734 SE2d 560) (2012). A trial court is authorized to grant one 30-day extension of time to file a notice of appeal. See OCGA § 5-6-39 (c). The request for an extension, however, “must be made before expiration of the period for filing as originally prescribed or as extended by a permissible previous order.” OCGA § 5-6-39 (d). See also Hodges v. Auction Credit Enterprises, 352 Ga. App. 517, 518 (2) (835 SE2d 357) (2019) (a request for an extension to file a notice of appeal “must be made before the initial 30-day period for

filing the notice of appeal expires”) (punctuation omitted). Here, the defendants did not request an extension of time to file their notice of appeal until after the 30-day period for filing the notice had expired. Accordingly, the trial court was not authorized to grant an extension. See Grovnor v. Bd. of Regents of Univ. System of Ga., 231 Ga. App. 120, 120-121 (1) (497 SE2d 652) (1998). Because the defendants’ notice of appeal was not timely filed, this appeal is hereby DISMISSED for lack of jurisdiction.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 08/30/2024 I certify that the above is a true extract from the minutes of the Court of Appeals of Georgia. Witness my signature and the seal of said court hereto affixed the day and year last above written.

, Clerk.