Background
Antawana Brantley appealed in the Court of Appeals of Georgia but did not comply with the court’s notice of docketing or Court of Appeals Rule 23 (a), which required her to file an enumeration of errors and an appellate brief within 20 days after the appeal was docketed. The court also cited Rule 13.
On September 25, 2026, the court ordered Brantley to file the required enumeration of errors and brief by October 5, 2026. Neither document had been filed when the court issued its October 8 order.
The Court’s Holding
The Court of Appeals deemed the appeal abandoned because Brantley failed to file an enumeration of errors and brief, even after the court issued an order setting a final deadline for those filings.
The court therefore dismissed the appeal under Court of Appeals Rules 7 and 23 (a). The order did not address the merits of Brantley’s underlying claims.
Key Takeaways
- An appellant must timely file an enumeration of errors and appellate brief as required by Georgia Court of Appeals rules.
- Failure to comply with a court-imposed filing deadline may cause an appeal to be deemed abandoned.
- The dismissal was procedural and did not resolve the merits of the appeal.
Why It Matters
The order underscores that compliance with appellate filing requirements is essential to preserving review. An appellant who does not submit the required documents after notice and a further court order risks dismissal without consideration of the asserted errors.