Peter v. Howerton - Discretionary Application Dismissed

GA Court of Appeals Opinions

Filed March 16th, 2026

Detected March 16th, 2026

Summary

The Georgia Court of Appeals dismissed Peter Howerton's discretionary application for appeal as untimely. The application was filed one day after the extended deadline, and the court lacked jurisdiction to consider it.

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What changed

The Georgia Court of Appeals has dismissed Peter Howerton's discretionary application for appeal in the domestic relations matter of Peter v. Howerton v. Shawn Howerton. The dismissal, docketed under A26D0402, occurred because the application was filed on March 10, 2026, one day after the extended deadline of March 9, 2026. The court cited its own rules and Georgia law, which state that failure to meet statutory deadlines for discretionary applications is a jurisdictional defect.

This ruling underscores the critical importance of adhering to court-ordered deadlines, particularly in appellate procedures. Legal professionals representing parties in similar situations must ensure all filings are submitted within the prescribed timeframes, including any granted extensions. Failure to do so, as demonstrated in this case, results in the dismissal of the appeal and a loss of jurisdiction for the appellate court.

What to do next

Ensure all appellate filings are submitted by the established deadlines, including any granted extensions.

Source document (simplified)

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March 16, 2026 Get Citation Alerts Download PDF Add Note

Peter v. Howerton v. Shawn Howerton

Court of Appeals of Georgia

Citations: None known
Docket Number: A26D0402
Disposition: Discretionary Application Dismissed
Opinion
Authorities (1)
Cited By (0)
Summaries (0)
Similar Cases (0)
PDF

Disposition

Discretionary Application Dismissed

Combined Opinion

Court of Appeals
of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________
March 16, 2026

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A26D0402. PETER V. HOWERTON v. SHAWN HOWERTON.

In this domestic relations matter, the trial court found Peter Howerton in
contempt of the final judgment and decree of divorce. Peter filed a motion for an
extension of time to file his application for discretionary appeal with this Court, which
we granted, giving Peter until March 9, 2026 to file the application. See Case No.
A26E0139. However, Peter did not file his application until March 10, 2026; thus, this
application is untimely.
In his application materials, Peter submitted screenshots of two failed attempts
to file his application with this Court’s docket. The only timely attempt to file was
made on March 9, 2026 at 11:58 p.m.1 Nevertheless, the application was not actually
filed until March 10. See Court of Appeals Rule 46 (a) (“The filing date and time of
documents filed electronically is determined in accordance with the efiling
instructions. Note that filings that fail to comply with Court rules will be rejected and
the filing date will be the date the item is submitted in compliance with Court
rules.”).2

1
The second attempt was made on March 10, 2026 at 12:19 a.m.
2
To the extent these screenshots constitute another motion for an extension of
time, we are unable to issue another extension, because it was not made before the
extended deadline. See OCGA § 5-6-39(d) (“Any application to any court, justice, or
judge for an extension must be made before expiration of the period for filing as
originally prescribed or as extended by a permissible previous order.”). And
regardless, under this Court’s rules, we can only issue one extension for a
“A failure to meet the statutory deadline for filing a discretionary application,
which is 30 days under OCGA § 5-6-35 (d) plus any proper extensions pursuant to
OCGA § 5-6-39, is a jurisdictional defect.” Crosson v. Conway, 291 Ga. 220, 220 (1)
(728 SE2d 617) (2012). Accordingly, we lack jurisdiction to consider this application,
which is hereby DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia
Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________
03/16/2026
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.

discretionary application. See Court of Appeals Rule 16(c).