Monique Laguerre v. Christen Jakulski

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ October 20, 2023

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A23A1742. MONIQUE LAGUERRE v. CHRISTEN JAKULSKI.

Monique Laguerre filed a personal injury action against Christen Jakulski and unnamed defendants. Jakulski filed an answer and, later, a motion to dismiss the complaint. On November 3, 2022, the trial court entered an order granting the motion and dismissing the complaint with prejudice, on the ground that Laguerre had failed to serve either Jakulski or an uninsured motorist carrier within the statute of limitation period. Laguerre filed a motion for reconsideration on November 30, 2022, which the trial court denied on January 11, 2023. On January 12, 2023, Laguerre filed a notice of appeal, seeking review of the dismissal order as well as a November 19, 2021 order resolving a motion for service by publication. We lack jurisdiction. A notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days of entry of an appealable order or judgment. OCGA § 5-6-38 (a). “The proper and timely filing of a notice of appeal is an absolute requirement to confer appellate jurisdiction on an appellate court.” Perlman v. Perlman, 318 Ga. App. 731, 739 (4) (734 SE2d 560) (2012) (citation and punctuation omitted). Laguerre filed her notice of appeal 70 days after the entry of the dismissal order, which was a final judgment, and 419 days after the entry of the order on the service by publication motion. Although Laguerre filed a motion for reconsideration within 30 days of the dismissal order, motions for reconsideration do not extend the time for filing an appeal from the underlying decision, and an order resolving the motion for reconsideration is not itself a directly appealable judgment. See Ferguson v. Freeman, 282 Ga. 180, 181 (1) (646 SE2d 65) (2007); Bell v. Cohran, 244 Ga. App. 510, 510 (536 SE2d 187) (2000).

Therefore, we lack jurisdiction to entertain this appeal, which is hereby DISMISSED. Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 10/20/2023 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.