The opinion
Court of Appeals
of the State of Georgia
ATLANTA,__________________
April 03, 2014
The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:
A14A1209. DOUGLAS T. BROWN v. WILLIAM A. BROWN, et al.
On December 23, 2013, the trial court entered summary judgment in favor of
the plaintiffs. On January 23, 2014, defendant Douglas T. Brown filed a notice of
appeal.1 We lack jurisdiction because the appeal is untimely.
A notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days after entry of the order on
appeal. OCGA § 5-6-38 (a). The proper and timely filing of a notice of appeal is an
absolute requirement to confer jurisdiction on this Court. See Couch v. United
Paperworkers Intl. Union, 224 Ga. App. 721 (482 SE2d 704) (1997). Brown filed
his notice of appeal 31 days after entry of the order she seeks to challenge. His
appeal is therefore untimely, and it is hereby DISMISSED for lack of jurisdiction.
Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia
04/03/2014
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.
1
The notice of appeal does not bear a “filed” stamp, but is stamped as
“received” by the trial court on January 23, 2014. The clerk’s endorsement is
generally the best evidence as to the date the paper was delivered to the clerk for
filing. See, e.g., Lavan v. Philips, 184 Ga. App. 573 (362 SE2d 138) (1987).
Accordingly, we have considered the appeal’s timeliness based on January 23, 2014.