Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia ATLANTA,__________________ February 07, 2014 The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A14A0872. JOHN THOMAS BIASO v. KARLA JACKSON, et al.

John Thomas Biaso filed a notice of direct appeal from the trial court’s order dismissing his civil action against several Coastal State Prison employees. We, however, lack jurisdiction for two reasons.

First, because Biaso was incarcerated at the time he filed suit in this case, his appeal is controlled by the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1996. OCGA § 42-12- et seq. OCGA § 42-12-8 requires that an appeal of a civil action filed by a prisoner “shall be as provided in Code Section 5-6-35.” Under OCGA § 5-6-35, the party wishing to appeal must file an application for discretionary appeal to the appropriate appellate court. Biaso’s failure to file an application for discretionary appeal in this case deprives this Court of jurisdiction over this direct appeal. See Jones v. Townsend, 267 Ga. 489 (480 SE2d 24) (1997).

Second, the appeal is untimely. The trial court’s order was entered on February 5, 2013, yet Biaso did not file his notice of appeal until 43 days later, on March 20, 2013. OCGA § 5-6-38 (a), however, requires that a notice of appeal be filed within days of entry of the judgment on appeal. The proper and timely filing of a notice of appeal is an absolute requirement to confer jurisdiction upon this Court. Couch v. United Paperworkers Intern. Union, 224 Ga. App. 721 (482 SE2d 704) (1997).

Biaso’s filing of a motion for reconsideration did not extend the time to file an appeal from the February 5, 2013, order, and the denial of a motion for reconsideration is not, itself, appealable. Savage v. Newsome, 173 Ga. App. 271 (326 SE2d 5) (1985).

For these reasons, we lack jurisdiction to review Biaso’s appeal, which is hereby DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia 02/07/2014 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.