Court Opinion

ID: 9964256
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-04-29 16:03:06.658142+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:25:18.068962
License: Public Domain

Court of Appeals
of the State of Georgia

                                         ATLANTA,____________________
                                                  April 29, 2024

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A24A1259. JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N. A., SUCCESSOR BY MERGER TO
    WASHINGTON MUTUAL, N. A. v. WILLIAM E. WHITAKER, AS
    ADMINISTRATOR OF THE ESTATE OF N. R. HINES, et al.

      JPMorgan Chase Bank, N. A. (“the Bank”), as the successor in interest to
Washington Mutual, N. A. filed suit against the estate of N. R. Hines and Hines’s
heirs (collectively, “the Hineses”), seeking reformation of a loan agreement and
security deed. The Hineses moved for summary judgment, arguing that the statute of
limitation had expired on the Bank’s claim for reformation. The trial court agreed and
on June 27, 2023, it entered an order granting the motion for summary judgment. On
October 27, 2023, the Bank filed a notice of appeal. The Hineses have moved to
dismiss the appeal, arguing that this Court lacks jurisdiction. We agree.

      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 jurisdiction upon an
appellate court.” Perlman v. Perlman, 318 Ga. App. 731, 739 (4) (734 SE2d 560) (2012)
(punctuation omitted). Here, the Bank’s notice of appeal was untimely, as it was filed
four months after entry of the trial court’s order. Accordingly, we lack jurisdiction to
consider this appeal. For that reason, the Hineses’ motion to dismiss is GRANTED,
and this appeal is hereby DISMISSED.
      To the extent that the trial court did not provide the Bank with timely notice of
its June 27, 2023 order, the Bank’s remedy is to petition the trial court to vacate and
re-enter the order as a means of correcting the problem. Cambron v. Canal Ins. Co.,
246 Ga. 147, 148-149 (1) (269 SE2d 426) (1980), disapproved in part on other grounds
by Wright v. Young, 297 Ga. 683, 684 n. 3 (777 SE2d 475) (2015).

                                        Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia
                                          Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________
                                                                      04/29/2024
                                                   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.