Ivery vs. Brown, 307 Ga.App. 732, 706 S.E.2d 120 (2011).
The parties were never married and have one child together. The father filed multiple petitions to legitimate the parties’ child. The first petition was dismissed due to his wilful failure to produce discovery responses. A subsequent petition was also dismissed due to his continued, wilful failure to respond to discovery. Approximately seven (7) months later, an amended order was entered stating that the previous dismissal was “without prejudice”, thereby allowing the father to potentially file another legitimation action. The mother appealed the trial court’s authority to enter this amended order.
The Court of Appeals of Georgia agreed with the mother’s contention and reversed the trial court’s amended order. The Court found that the amended order was not entered in the same term of court. Moreover, the amended order was not an attempt to correct a clerical mistake as it affected substantive rights of the mother.