In Jackson v. Beech Aircraft Corp., 213 Ga. App. 172 [(444 S.E.2d 359) (1994), the Court said that an unreasonable delay may be defined as a delay which may affect an appeal by: (a) directly prejudicing the position of a party by allowing an intermediate change of conditions or otherwise resulting in inequity; or (b) causing the appeal to be stale; (See, e.g., Cousins Mtg. &c. v. Hamilton, 147 Ga. App. 210 (248 S.E.2d 516) [(1978)]), such as, by delaying just disposition of the case, by preventing placement of the case on the earliest possible appellate court calendar, or by delaying the docketing of the appeal and hearing of the case by an appellate court. Cook v. McNamee, 223 Ga. App. 460, 461 (477 S.E.2d 884) (1996).