Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia ATLANTA,__________________ April 03, 2014 The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A14A1209. DOUGLAS T. BROWN v. WILLIAM A. BROWN, et al.

On December 23, 2013, the trial court entered summary judgment in favor of the plaintiffs. On January 23, 2014, defendant Douglas T. Brown filed a notice of appeal.1 We lack jurisdiction because the appeal is untimely.

A notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days after entry of the order on appeal. OCGA § 5-6-38 (a). The proper and timely filing of a notice of appeal is an absolute requirement to confer jurisdiction on this Court. See Couch v. United Paperworkers Intl. Union, 224 Ga. App. 721 (482 SE2d 704) (1997). Brown filed his notice of appeal 31 days after entry of the order she seeks to challenge. His appeal is therefore untimely, and it is hereby DISMISSED for lack of jurisdiction.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia 04/03/2014 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.

The notice of appeal does not bear a “filed” stamp, but is stamped as “received” by the trial court on January 23, 2014. The clerk’s endorsement is generally the best evidence as to the date the paper was delivered to the clerk for filing. See, e.g., Lavan v. Philips, 184 Ga. App. 573 (362 SE2d 138) (1987).

Accordingly, we have considered the appeal’s timeliness based on January 23, 2014.