Court Opinion

ID: 9926869
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-01-25 20:03:11.239534+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:21:37.363569
License: Public Domain

Court of Appeals
of the State of Georgia

                                         ATLANTA,____________________
                                                  January 25, 2024

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A24D0208. EUTHA L. DORSEY v. BYUNG KIM.

      This case began as a dispossessory proceeding in magistrate court. After that
court issued a writ of possession and judgment in favor of Byung Kim, Eutha Dorsey
appealed to the state court. The state court entered a final judgment in favor of Kim
on December 2, 2022. Ten days later, Dorsey filed a direct appeal to this Court; we
dismissed the appeal as untimely and for failure to comply with the discretionary
review procedures. See Dorsey v. Kim, Case No. A24A0415 (Oct. 16, 2023); OCGA
§§ 5-6-35 (a) (11); 44-7-56 (b) (1).
      Following dismissal of her first appeal, Dorsey filed a motion in the trial court
pursuant to OCGA § 9-11-60 (d), seeking to set aside the December 2022 order. The
trial court denied that motion on November 9, 2023, and Dorsey filed a direct appeal
that same day. As we did with her first appeal, we dismissed Dorsey’s second appeal
for lack of jurisdiction. In doing so, we noted that an appeal from a trial court order
denying a motion to set aside a judgment must be initiated by filing an application for
discretionary review. See Dorsey v. Kim, Case No. A24A0734 (Jan. 5, 2024); OCGA
§ 5-6-35 (a) (8), (b). Four days after we dismissed Dorsey’s second appeal, she filed
the current application for discretionary review, seeking to appeal the trial court’s
December 2022 and November 2023 orders. Again, however, we lack jurisdiction.
      To be timely, a discretionary application must be filed within 30 days of the
entry of the order, decision, or judgment sought to be appealed. OCGA § 5-6-35 (d).
This statutory deadline is jurisdictional, and this Court cannot accept an application
for appeal that fails to comply with the statute. See In the Interest of B. R. F., 299 Ga.
294, 298 (788 SE2d 416) (2016) (holding that an appellate court lacks jurisdiction over
an untimely application for discretionary appeal); Hair Restoration Specialists v. State
of Georgia, 360 Ga. App. 901, 903 (862 SE2d 564) (2021) (compliance with the
discretionary appeals procedure is jurisdictional, and failure to comply with that
procedure requires dismissal of the appeal). Here, Dorsey filed her application more
than a year following entry of the order of final judgment and 61 days after entry of the
order denying her motion to set aside. Accordingly, we lack jurisdiction to consider
this application, which is hereby DISMISSED.

                                         Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia
                                           Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________
                                                                       01/25/2024
                                                    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.