Irene Hill and Houston Stone Mobbs brought a declaratory judgment action against Kent Buttram in a boundary dispute. On September 11, 2001, the trial court entered judgment in favor of But-tram on a jury’s verdict, expressly reserving ruling on Buttram’s motion for an award of OCGA § 9-15-14 attorney fees. After the trial court denied Buttram’s request for attorney fees on October 17, 2001, Hill and Mobbs filed a notice of appeal on November 15, 2001.
The order Hill and Mobbs appealed from is not the October 17, 2001 order denying attorney fees, as stated in their notice of appeal. Rather, the final judgment in this case is the one based on the jury
The order denying attorney fees is not the final judgment in the case, as demonstrated by OCGA § 9-15-14 (e). The Code section provides that a motion for attorney fees must be filed within 45 days of “final disposition of the action.” The phrase “final disposition” in OCGA § 9-15-14 (e) is synonymous with the phrase “final judgment” found in OCGA § 5-6-34 (a) (1), “that is to say, where the case is no longer pending in the court below.” (Punctuation omitted.) Fairburn Banking Co. v. Gafford,
A proper and timely filed notice of appeal is an absolute requirement to confer jurisdiction upon this Court. Brown v. Webb,
Appeal dismissed.
