Title 9

(a) Service — When required. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, every order required by its terms to be served, every pleading subsequent to the original complaint unless the court otherwise orders because of numerous defendants, every written motion other than one whi…

Co. v. First Fed. Sav. & Loan Ass’n, 168 Ga. App. 899, 310 S.E.2d 712 (1983). Extension of Time Subsections (b) and (d) provide flexibility in filing times. — O.C.G.A. § 9-11-56(c), relating to affidavits in support of summary judgments, requires that only supporting material whi…

(a) Caption; names of parties. Every pleading shall contain a caption setting forth the name of the court and county, the title of the action, the file number, and a designation as in subsection (a) of Code Section 9-11-7. In the complaint the title of the action shall include th…

(a) Every pleading of a party represented by an attorney shall be signed by at least one attorney of record in his individual name, whose address shall be stated. A party who is not represented by an attorney shall sign his pleading and state his address. The signature of an atto…

Eastern Air Lines, 159 Ga. App. 630, 284 S.E.2d 647 (1981). Trial court’s ruling that the defendant did not timely assert the defendant’s deHow Defenses, etc., Presented (Cont’d) 3. Personal Jurisdiction (Cont’d) fense of lack of personal jurisdiction due to the plaintiff ’s lach…

(a) Compulsory counterclaims. A pleading shall state as a counterclaim any claim which at the time of serving the pleading the pleader has against any opposing party, if it arises out of the transaction or occurrence that is the subject matter of the opposing party’s claim and do…

(a) When defendant may bring in third party. At any time after commencement of the action a defendant, as a third-party plaintiff, may cause a summons and complaint to be served upon a person not a party to the action who is or may be liable to him for all or part of the plaintif…

v. Thompson, 222 Ga. App. 821, 476 S.E.2d 22 (1996). Issue of actual damages, having been litigated by the implied consent of the parties, was not foreclosed because of its absence from the complaint. Conner v. Conner, 269 Ga. 112, 499 S.E.2d 54 (1998). Application of subsection …

(a) Upon the motion of any party, or upon its own motion, the court shall direct the attorneys for the parties to appear before it for a conference to consider: (1) The simplification of the issues; (2) The necessity or desirability of amendments to the pleadings; (3) The possibi…

(a) Pleadings. There shall be a complaint and an answer; a third-party complaint, if a person who is not an original party is summoned under Code Section 9-11-14; and a third-party answer, if a third-party complaint is served. There may be a reply to a counterclaim denominated as…

(a) Redacted filings. Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c) of this Code section or unless the court orders otherwise, a filing with the court that contains a social security number, taxpayer identification number, financial account number, or birth date shall include onl…

State, 213 Ga. App. 309, 444 S.E.2d 372 (1994). Plea of insufficient information to admit or deny is a denial. — Defendants’ plea that the defendants were without sufficient information to either admit or deny certain allegations of the complaint had the effect of a denial under …

Fowler, 248 Ga. 801, 9-11-9 286 S.E.2d 13, appeal dismissed, 457 U.S. 1113, 102 S. Ct. 2918, 73 L. Ed. 2d 1324 (1982). Defendant was not estopped from asserting the improper party defense on grounds that the defendant did not comply with O.C.G.A. §§ 9-11-9 and 9-11-19, since thos…

Middle Ga. Hosp., Inc., 211 Ga. App. 884, 440 S.E.2d 687 (1994). Facsimile copy of expert affidavit satisfies the pleading standards of O.C.G.A. § 9-11-9.1 and the original may then be filed as a supplemental pleading without requiring the action to be renewed. Sisk v. Patel, 217…

(a) In any action for damages alleging medical malpractice against a professional licensed by the State of Georgia and listed in subsection (g) of Code Section 9-11-9.1, against a professional corporation or other legal entity that provides health care services through a professi…

(a) Real party in interest. Every action shall be prosecuted in the name of the real party in interest. An executor, an administrator, a guardian, a bailee, a trustee of an express trust, a party with whom or in whose name a contract has been made for the benefit of another, or a…

(a) Joinder of claims. A party asserting a claim to relief as an original claim, counterclaim, cross-claim, or third-party claim may join, either as independent or as alternate claims, as many claims, legal or equitable, as he has against an opposing party. (b) Joinder of remedie…

(a) Permissive joinder. All persons may join in one action as plaintiffs if they assert any right to relief jointly, severally, or in the alternative in respect of or arising out of the same transaction, occurrence, or series of transactions or occurrences and if any question of …

Misjoinder of parties is not ground for dismissal of an action. Parties may be dropped or added by order of the court on motion of any party or of its own initiative at any stage of the action and on such terms as are just. Any claim against a party may be severed and proceeded w…

(a) Persons having claims against the plaintiff may be joined as defendants and required to interplead when their claims are such that the plaintiff is or may be exposed to double or multiple liability. It is not ground for objection to the joinder that the claims of the several …

(a) One or more members of a class may sue or be sued as representative parties on behalf of all only if: (1) The class is so numerous that joinder of all members is impracticable; (2) There are questions of law or fact common to the class; (3) The claims or defenses of the repre…

(a) Intervention of right. Upon timely application anyone shall be permitted to intervene in an action: (1) When a statute confers an unconditional right to intervene; or (2) When the applicant claims an interest relating to the property or transaction which is the subject matter…

McCarley, 246 Ga. App. 171, 539 S.E.2d 871 (2000). Failure timely to seek substitution held not excusable neglect. — When there was no evidence from which the trial court could find excusable neglect as a matter of fact and, as a matter of law, plaintiff ’s explanation that couns…

Ry. v. Thompson, 208 Ga. App. 240, 430 S.E.2d 371 (1993). Witness statement generated by plaintiff ’s and attorney’s joint interview. — When an attorney and the plaintiff jointly interviewed a witness shortly before suit was filed and in contemplation of the litigation, the state…

(a) Before action. (1) Petition. A person who desires to perpetuate such person’s own testimony or that of another person regarding any matter that may be cognizable in any court may file a verified petition in the superior court of the county where the witness resides. The petit…

(a) Within the United States and its possessions. Within the United States or within a territory or insular possession subject to the dominion of the United States, depositions shall be taken before an officer authorized to administer oaths by the laws of the United States or by …

Unless the court orders otherwise, the parties may, by written stipulation: (1) Provide that depositions may be taken before any person, at any time or place, upon any notice, and in any manner and, when so taken, may be used like other depositions; and (2) Modify the procedures …

(a) Depositions and other discovery material otherwise required to be filed with the court under this chapter shall not be required to be so filed unless: (1) Required by local rule of court; (2) Ordered by the court; (3) Requested by any party to the action; (4) Relief relating …

(a) When depositions may be taken. After commencement of the action, any party may take the testimony of any person, including a party, by deposition upon oral examination. Leave of court, granted with or without notice, must be obtained only if the plaintiff seeks to take a depo…

(a) Serving questions; notice. (1) After commencement of the action, any party may take the testimony of any person, including a party, by deposition upon written questions. The attendance of witnesses may be compelled by the use of subpoena as provided in Code Section 9-11-45. T…

510, entirely superseded the former version of this section, the purpose being to conform the discovery provisions of the Civil Practice Act (see now O.C.G.A. Ch. 11, T. 9) to the 1970 amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Georgia Int’l Life Ins. Co. v. Boney, 139 G…

Toronto-Dominion Bank, 168 Ga. App. 279, 308 S.E.2d 682 (1983). Number of interrogatories allowed. — Without leave of court, a party may not serve a total of more than 50 interrogatories and such limit is a cumulative, not a ‘‘per set’’ limit. Copher v. Mackey, 220 Ga. App. 43, 4…

(a) Scope. Any party may serve on any other party a request: (1) To produce and permit the party making the request, or someone acting on his behalf, to inspect and copy any designated documents (including writings, drawings, graphs, charts, photographs, phono-records, and other …

Notwithstanding the provisions of Code Section 9-11-34, in any civil action based upon evidence seized in a criminal proceeding involving any violation of Part 2 of Article 3 of Chapter 12 of Title 16, a party shall not be permitted to copy any books, papers, documents, photograp…

(a) Order for examination. When the mental or physical condition (including the blood group) of a party, or of a person in the custody or under the legal control of a party, is in controversy, the court in which the action is pending may order the party to submit to a physical ex…

(a) Scope; service; answer or objection; motion to determine sufficiency. (1) A party may serve upon any other party a written request for the admission, for purposes of the pending action only, of the truth of any matters within the scope of subsection (b) of Code Section 9-11-2…

Kimoto USA, Inc., 209 Ga. App. 296, 433 S.E.2d 342 (1993). Plaintiff ’s intentional failure to attend the plaintiff ’s deposition and answer discovery requests warranted dismissal of the complaint, and the fact that the defendant also failed to respond to discovery did not excuse…

(a) The parties or their attorneys of record, by written stipulation filed with the court or by an oral stipulation made in open court and entered in the record, may consent to trial by the court sitting without a jury. (b) In all actions not triable of right by a jury, or where …

Butler, 240 Ga. App. 72, 522 S.E.2d 548 (1999). Publication in official county newspaper sufficient. — Publication of trial calendar in official county newspaper is notice of trial pursuant to subsection (c) of this section. Brown v. Citizens & S. Nat’l Bank, 245 Ga. 515, 265 S.E…

Zohouri, 218 Ga. App. 748, 463 S.E.2d 141 (1995). Dismissal allowed when issues of liability and damages were bifurcated. — Plaintiff who brought a breach of contract action and was unable to adequately prove lost profits was entitled to voluntarily dismiss the plaintiff ’s case …

(a) Consolidation. When actions involving a common question of law or fact are pending before the court, if the parties consent, the court may order a joint hearing or trial of any or all the matters in issue in the actions; it may order all the actions consolidated; and it may m…

(a) Evidence on trials. In all trials the testimony of witnesses shall be taken orally in open court unless otherwise provided by this chapter or by statute. (b) Evidence on motions. When a motion is based on facts not appearing of record, the court may hear the matter on affidav…

(a)(1)(A) The clerk of the superior court of the county in which the action is pending or the clerk of any court of record in the county where the deposition is to be taken shall issue subpoenas for the persons sought to be deposed, upon request. (B) Upon agreement of the parties…

(a) Formal exceptions to rulings or orders of the court are unnecessary. For all purposes for which an exception has heretofore been necessary, it is sufficient that a party, at the time the ruling or order of the court is made or sought, makes known to the court the action which…

(a) The parties may by written stipulation, filed of record, stipulate that the jury shall consist of any number less than that fixed by statute. (b) The court may direct that one or two jurors in addition to the regular panel be called and impaneled to sit as alternate jurors. A…

(a) The court may require a jury to return only a special verdict in the form of a special written finding upon each issue of fact. In that event the court may submit to the jury written questions susceptible of categorical or other brief answer or may submit written forms of sev…