Daniel A. Spottsville v. Robert Adams, Jr. ( 2019 )


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  • Court of Appeals
    of the State of Georgia
    ATLANTA,____________________
    March 15, 2019
    The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:
    A19A1425. DANIEL A. SPOTTSVILLE v. ROBERT ADAMS, JR.
    Daniel Spottsville, who currently is serving a prison sentence following 1998
    convictions for child molestation and other offenses, filed a motion seeking leave of
    the trial court to file a civil action against one or more defendants. After the trial
    court denied Spottsville’s request in October 2018, he filed a motion for
    reconsideration, which the trial court denied in January 2019. Spottsville filed this
    direct appeal on February 1, 2019. We lack jurisdiction for multiple reasons.
    First, under the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1996, an appeal in a civil
    action filed by a prisoner must be initiated by filing an application for discretionary
    review.   See OCGA § 42-12-8, cross-referencing OCGA § 5-6-35; Jones v.
    Townsend, 
    267 Ga. 489
    , 490 (480 SE2d 24) (1997).               “Compliance with the
    discretionary appeals procedure is jurisdictional.”       Smoak v. Dept. of Human
    Resources, 
    221 Ga. App. 257
    , 257 (471 SE2d 60) (1996). Because Spottsville was
    incarcerated when he attempted to file this civil action, his failure to comply with the
    discretionary review procedure deprives us of jurisdiction over this direct appeal. See
    
    Jones, 267 Ga. at 490-491
    .
    Second, a motion for reconsideration neither extends the time for filing an
    appellate challenge to an appealable order nor is appealable in its own right. See Bell
    v. Cohran, 
    244 Ga. App. 510
    , 510-511 (536 SE2d 187) (2000); Savage v. Newsome,
    
    173 Ga. App. 271
    , 271 (326 SE2d 5) (1985). Consequently, the trial court’s January
    2019 order is not appealable, and Spottsville’s appeal – filed more than 30 days after
    the court’s October 2018 order – is untimely as to the October 2018 order. See
    OCGA § 5-6-38 (a); 
    Bell, 244 Ga. App. at 510-511
    ; 
    Savage, 173 Ga. App. at 271
    .
    For each of these reasons, we lack jurisdiction over this direct appeal, which
    is hereby DISMISSED.
    Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia
    Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________
    03/15/2019
    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.
    

Document Info

Docket Number: A19A1425

Filed Date: 3/21/2019

Precedential Status: Precedential

Modified Date: 3/21/2019