THOMAS BROWN v. THELMA BROWN

 

NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE

APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION

SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY

APPELLATE DIVISION

DOCKET NO. A-4152-07T34152-07T3

THOMAS BROWN,

Plaintiff-Appellant,

v.

THELMA BROWN,

Defendant-Respondent.

_______________________________

 

Submitted: March 25, 2009 - Decided:

Before Judges Cuff and C.L. Miniman.

On appeal from the Superior Court of New Jersey, Chancery Division, Family Part, Cumberland County, Docket No. FM-06-144-05.

Thomas Brown, appellant pro se.

Thelma Brown, respondent pro se.

PER CURIAM

Plaintiff Thomas Brown appeals from a Final Amended Judg ment of Divorce (Amended JOD) entered on March 15, 2006, which included his service-connected veterans' disability compensation benefits and social security disability benefits as income for purposes of calculating alimony, and an April 11, 2008, order dismissing his application to amend the Amended JOD to exclude such benefits. We dismiss the appeal from the Amended JOD and affirm the dismissal of his motion to exclude disability benefits from income.

The time for appeal from a final judgment or order is gov erned by Rule 2:4-1, which provides that such appeals must be filed within forty-five days of the entry of the final judgment or order. Plaintiff's appeal was filed on April 18, 2008. This was more than two years after the March 15, 2006, Amended JOD. We cannot extend the time for appeal for more than thirty days. R. 2:4-4(a). As a result, the appeal from the March 15, 2006, Amended JOD must be dismissed as untimely filed.

Plaintiff did timely appeal the April 11, 2008, order deny ing his application to amend the Amended JOD to exclude his social security and veterans' disability benefits from income for purposes of cal cu lating alimony. Thus, we do have jurisdiction of that issue. The trial judge dismissed that application because it merely sought to appeal a judicial decision of December 9, 2005, that was incorporated into the Amended JOD. Although plaintiff had "reserved" his right to appeal that decision in the Amended JOD, no such appeal was ever taken.

This dismissal was entirely appropriate. Once the time for appeal has lapsed, a JOD is final for all purposes and may only be modified upon a showing of changed circumstances. Lepis v. Lepis, 83 N.J. 139, 146-47 (1980). No such changed circumstances were shown here. The application was nothing more than an attempt to appeal that which has been final for appellate purposes for over two years.

 
Affirmed.

(continued)

(continued)

3

A-4152-07T3

April 24, 2009