Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia ATLANTA,____________________ May 07, 2019 The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A19A1845. CHARNISSA PITTMAN v. ENVISION PROPERTY MANAGEMENT.

This case began as a dispossessory proceeding in magistrate court between plaintiff Envision Property Management and defendant Charnissa Pittman. In February 2018, the magistrate court entered judgment in favor of the plaintiff and issued a writ of possession. Pittman appealed to the state court. On May 2, 2018, the state court also entered judgment in favor of the plaintiff and issued a writ of possession. In September 2018, Pittman filed a motion for reconsideration, which the state court denied. Pittman filed this appeal on December 27, 2018. We, however, lack jurisdiction.

First, an appeal from a state court order disposing of a de novo appeal from a magistrate court decision must be initiated by filing an application for discretionary review, and the failure to follow our discretionary application procedure is grounds for dismissal. See OCGA § 5-6-35 (a) (11); Strachan v. Meritor Mtg. Corp. East, 216 Ga. App. 82, 82 (453 SE2d 119) (1995).

Second, while a notice of appeal generally must be filed within 30 days of entry of the order sought to be appealed under OCGA § 5-6-38 (a), the underlying subject matter of an appeal controls over the relief sought in determining the proper appellate procedure. Radio Sandy Springs, Inc. v. Allen Road Joint Venture, 311 Ga. App. 334, 335 (715 SE2d 752) (2011). The underlying subject matter here is a dispossessory judgment. Under OCGA § 44-7-56, appeals in dispossessory actions must be filed within seven days of the date the judgment was entered. Ray M. Wright, Inc. v. Jones, 239 Ga. App. 521, 522-523 (521 SE2d 456) (1999). The proper and timely filing of an appeal is an absolute requirement to confer jurisdiction on this Court. Id. at 523.

Moreover, the filing of a motion for reconsideration does not extend the time for filing a notice of appeal, and the denial of a motion for reconsideration is not itself a directly appealable order. See Bell v. Cohran, 244 Ga. App. 510, 511 (536 SE2d 187) (2000); Savage v. Newsome, 173 Ga. App. 271, 271 (326 SE2d 5) (1985). Thus, Pittman’s notice of appeal – filed 239 days after the state court’s order entering judgment for the plaintiff – is also untimely.

For these reasons, this appeal is hereby DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 05/07/2019 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.