Deborah M. Williamson v. Chase Home Finance

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,__________________ June 17, 2013

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A13A1673. DEBORAH M. WILLIAMSON v. CHASE HOME FINANCE, et al.

Deborah Williamson filed a wrongful foreclosure action against Chase Home Finance and several other defendants. One of the defendants, Johnson & Freedman, LLC, filed a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, and on August 30, 2012, the trial court dismissed the action, concluding that Williamson’s complaint failed to state a claim against Johnson & Freedman and that the remaining defendants had not been served with process. Williamson filed a notice of appeal on September 21, 2012, but after she failed to pay the appeal costs, the case was administratively terminated on December 11, 2012, purportedly “without prejudice to the right of the parties to petition the Court to reopen the proceedings for good cause shown.” On March 22, 2013, Williamson filed a “Motion to Reopen Appeal,” and the trial court entered its “Order Granting Out Of Time Appeal” on March 28, 2013. We lack jurisdiction. The trial court’s order dismissing the case is a final order, from which Williamson was required to file a timely notice of appeal and to perfect that appeal below. Williamson filed a timely appeal, but the trial court properly terminated the case based upon her failure to pay the appeal costs. See OCGA § 5-6-48 (c). To the extent the trial court invited the parties to petition to “reopen the proceedings for good cause shown,” the court was not authorized to grant such relief because doing so would effectively extend the time to appeal the case. An out of time appeal is a judicially created remedy that is limited to criminal cases. See, e. g., Cody v. State, 277 Ga. 553 (592 SE2d 419) (2004). Consequently, “[t]he granting of an out of time appeal by the superior court is ineffective to confer jurisdiction upon [an appellate]

court in civil cases.” Woodall v. Woodall, 248 Ga. 172, 173 (281 SE2d 619) (1981). Therefore, this Court is without jurisdiction to consider this appeal. Finally, Williamson has failed to file an appellate brief in compliance with Court of Appeals Rule 23. Accordingly, for the aforementioned reasons, this appeal is hereby DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia 06/17/2013 Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,__________________ 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.