ga-cobb · diff
v0.1.0 to v0.1.0
218 added, 32 removed. Audit A to A.
---
name: ga-cobb
description: >
- Use when drafting or filing in Cobb County Superior Court. Triggers include the court name, its case number format, and local-rule references. Layers on top of `ga-statewide-format`.
+ This skill should be used when drafting or filing documents in any
+ Cobb County, Georgia court — the Superior Court of Cobb County (Cobb
+ Judicial Circuit), the State Court of Cobb County, the Cobb County
+ Magistrate Court, or Cobb Probate/Juvenile. Triggers include "file
+ in Cobb County", "Cobb County Superior Court", "Cobb State Court debt
+ suit", "Cobb domestic standing order", "Marietta court", "Cobb
+ magistrate small claims", "PeachCourt Cobb", "Cobb divorce", "Cobb
+ dispossessory", or "Cobb continuing garnishment". Covers which Cobb
+ court hears a given matter, the Cobb caption variants, the two Cobb
+ domestic standing orders that attach automatically at filing, the
+ Domestic Relations Financial Affidavit deadlines, and Cobb's
+ PeachCourt e-filing platform (not Odyssey eFileGA). Layer on top of
+ `ga-statewide-format`.
version: 0.1.0
---
- # Cobb County Superior Court
+ # Cobb County courts (Marietta, Georgia)
- > **TODO**: Author substantive content. This is a scaffolded
- > stub. Research the Georgia analog from authoritative sources
- > before writing — do not search-and-replace from another
- > state plugin.
+ > **NOT LEGAL ADVICE.** These notes describe the venue's procedural
+ > mechanics as a drafting aid, not legal advice. Local rules,
+ > standing orders, judge counts, and addresses change; verify with
+ > the clerk and the current court pages before relying on anything
+ > here.
- > **NOT LEGAL ADVICE.** These notes describe the venue's
- > procedural mechanics as a drafting aid, not legal advice.
- > Local rules and judge-specific practices change; verify
- > with the clerk and the current local rules before relying
- > on anything here.
+ Use this skill in addition to `ga-statewide-format` when the matter is
+ in a **Cobb County** court. Cobb County is a single-county circuit —
+ the **Cobb Judicial Circuit** covers only Cobb County. Marietta is the
+ county seat, and all four trial courts sit there.
- ## State context
+ The single most important Cobb-specific facts to get right are: (1)
+ choosing the correct Cobb court for the subject matter, and (2)
+ remembering that Cobb e-files through **PeachCourt**, not Odyssey
+ eFileGA, and that in domestic cases the **domestic standing order is
+ already in force the moment the case is filed**.
- - **State**: Georgia
- - **Format rule**: O.C.G.A. § 9-11-10 + Uniform Superior Court Rules
- - **Civil rules**: Georgia Civil Practice Act (O.C.G.A. Title 9, Ch. 11)
- - **Evidence rules**: Georgia Evidence Code (O.C.G.A. Title 24)
- - **Style manual**: Georgia appellate citation (Bluebook-based)
+ ## The four Cobb trial courts
- ## What to author
+ ### Superior Court of Cobb County
- 1. Description: replace the placeholder with realistic trigger
- phrases for how a Georgia pro se filer would ask about this
- 2. Body: substantive content matching the role
- 3. Composition notes: which other ga- skills this layers
- with
- 4. References: the supporting `references/*.md` files
+ - **70 Haynes Street, Marietta, GA 30090**; 11 Superior Court judges
+ (verify the current bench against the court page — judge counts
+ change with each legislative add-on and election).
+ - General-jurisdiction court with **exclusive** jurisdiction over
+ divorce, equity, title to land, and felonies (Ga. Const. art. VI,
+ § IV; O.C.G.A. § 15-6-8). Powers are catalogued at O.C.G.A.
+ § 15-6-8; the circuit/judgeship statute is O.C.G.A. § 15-6-1.
+ - Domestic-relations cases are assigned **randomly** among the judges
+ — there is **no named family division** in Cobb. Whatever judge
+ draws the case sets the schedule, so identify the assigned judge
+ early and check that judge's individual practices.
- ## References to author
+ ### State Court of Cobb County
- - Research the Georgia analog from authoritative sources
- before authoring; do NOT search-and-replace from another
- state plugin
+ - **12 East Park Square, Marietta, GA 30090**; 12 State Court judges
+ (verify against the current court page).
+ - Limited-jurisdiction court under O.C.G.A. § 15-7-4. Its **Civil
+ Division hears civil actions of ANY amount — there is no dollar
+ ceiling** — plus misdemeanors and traffic. It **cannot** hear
+ equity, divorce, title, or felonies (those are Superior-exclusive).
+ - Because the Superior/State split in Georgia is by **subject matter,
+ not dollar amount**, the State Court is the **principal forum for
+ Cobb debt-collection and tort suits**. A money judgment with no
+ equitable component normally belongs here, however large.
- ## Cross-references
+ ### Cobb County Magistrate Court
- - `ga-statewide-format` for format baseline
- - `ga-fulton` / `ga-cobb` / `ga-county-courts` for venue
- - `ga-pro-se` for pro se conventions
+ - **32 Waddell Street, Marietta, GA 30090**.
+ - **Small claims** up to **$15,000** (O.C.G.A. § 15-10-2(5)).
+ - **Dispossessory** (eviction) — the $15,000 cap does **not** apply
+ to a dispossessory money judgment.
+ - **Continuing garnishment** — a garnishment runs for **1,095 days**
+ once issued.
+ - A writ of **fieri facias (FiFa)** issues on default (or after **10
+ days** if the case is contested) and is recorded on the **Superior
+ Court General Execution Docket (GED)** to become a lien.
+ - Procedure is **informal** — the Civil Practice Act and the evidence
+ rules are relaxed (O.C.G.A. §§ 15-10-40 to 15-10-53), parties may
+ appear pro se, and a corporation may appear through an officer or
+ employee.
+ - A losing party gets a **de novo appeal** to the State or Superior
+ Court (O.C.G.A. § 15-10-41(b)).
+
+ ### Probate and Juvenile
+
+ - **Probate Court** — wills, estates, guardianship/conservatorship,
+ involuntary commitment, and the issuance of **marriage licenses and
+ weapons-carry licenses**.
+ - **Juvenile Court** — delinquency, children-in-need-of-services,
+ dependency, and termination of parental rights (under 18).
+
+ ## Caption — Cobb variants
+
+ For a Superior Court matter:
+
+ ```
+ SUPERIOR COURT OF COBB COUNTY
+ STATE OF GEORGIA
+
+ [PLAINTIFF / PETITIONER NAME], )
+ )
+ Plaintiff, ) Civil Action
+ ) File No. ____________
+ v. )
+ )
+ [DEFENDANT / RESPONDENT NAME], )
+ )
+ Defendant. )
+
+ [TITLE OF DOCUMENT]
+ ```
+
+ For a State Court matter, the heading reads **"STATE COURT OF COBB
+ COUNTY / STATE OF GEORGIA"**; everything else is the same.
+
+ - The file-number line is **"Civil Action File No. ____"** — left
+ blank for the clerk / PeachCourt to assign at filing; do not invent
+ a number.
+ - Party designations: **Plaintiff / Defendant** in ordinary civil
+ cases; **Petitioner / Respondent** in divorce and other domestic
+ matters.
+ - For the page setup (US Letter, 1" margins, 12-pt serif,
+ double-spacing, line numbering, footer), follow
+ `ga-statewide-format` and O.C.G.A. § 9-11-10.
+
+ ## E-filing — PeachCourt (NOT Odyssey eFileGA)
+
+ Cobb County files through **PeachCourt**, not the Odyssey eFileGA
+ platform used in many other Georgia counties. **Do not assume
+ eFileGA** — confirm PeachCourt before preparing an upload.
+
+ - **Superior Court** civil e-filing has been **mandatory since
+ October 1, 2018**.
+ - **State Court** e-filing is also **mandatory**.
+ - **Pro se** litigants **may** e-file through PeachCourt.
+
+ PeachCourt **auto-generates** several documents at filing rather than
+ requiring the filer to supply them:
+
+ - the **Case Initiation Form**,
+ - the **Disclosure Statement**,
+ - the **Summons**, and
+ - the **Sheriff's Entry of Service**.
+
+ Critically, in a domestic case PeachCourt **auto-attaches the
+ domestic standing order at the moment of filing** — see the next
+ section.
+
+ ## The two Cobb domestic standing orders (a notable trap)
+
+ Cobb attaches **two** standing orders in domestic-relations cases.
+ Both bind the parties as soon as the case is filed — there is no
+ separate hearing or service step that triggers them, and a filer
+ unfamiliar with Cobb can violate them without realizing they exist.
+
+ ### 1. Domestic Relations Standing Order & Rule Nisi
+
+ Automatically restrains both parties, from filing, from:
+
+ - **removing a child from Georgia for more than one week** —
+ **note this is NARROW**: it is a one-week out-of-state-removal
+ restraint, **not** a flat anti-relocation clause;
+ - **harassing** the other party;
+ - **disposing of assets**, except **in the ordinary course of
+ business or for an emergency / necessities**;
+ - **changing insurance** coverage;
+ - **disconnecting utilities**; and
+ - **interfering with the other party's mail**.
+
+ It also requires, as part of the domestic case:
+
+ - a **Domestic Relations Financial Affidavit (DRFA)** under
+ **USCR 24.2**, plus a **Child Support Worksheet**, **filed at least
+ 15 days before the hearing** and **updated at least 10 days before**
+ the hearing; and
+ - attendance at the divorcing-parents seminar (see the second order).
+
+ **Violating the standing order is punishable as contempt.**
+
+ ### 2. Co-Parenting Seminar Standing Order (USCR 24.8)
+
+ - The parties must **complete the co-parenting / divorcing-parents
+ seminar within 30 days of the final judgment**.
+ - There is a **$50 fee**, which is **waivable**.
+
+ There is **no business court in Cobb** — Cobb operates accountability
+ courts (e.g., drug/mental-health courts) but does not participate in a
+ business-case division.
+
+ ## Cobb traps for non-Cobb filers
+
+ 1. **The domestic standing order is already in force at filing.** It
+ binds both parties immediately — conduct that is fine pre-filing
+ (selling property, changing insurance, taking a child out of state
+ for a trip) can become contempt the instant the case is filed.
+ 2. **There are TWO standing orders**, not one — the Domestic
+ Relations Standing Order & Rule Nisi *and* the Co-Parenting Seminar
+ Standing Order.
+ 3. **The financial-affidavit deadlines are tight** — DRFA + Child
+ Support Worksheet at least **15 days** before the hearing, updated
+ at least **10 days** before.
+ 4. **The child-removal clause is NARROW** — it restrains taking a
+ child out of Georgia for more than a week; it is not a blanket bar
+ on relocation, and should not be paraphrased as one.
+ 5. **Cobb uses PeachCourt, not Odyssey eFileGA.** Preparing a filing
+ for the wrong platform wastes time; PeachCourt also auto-generates
+ the case-initiation paperwork and auto-attaches the standing order.
+
+ ## Composition
+
+ - `ga-statewide-format` — page setup, caption baseline, line numbering
+ - `ga-state-court` — civil-any-amount practice (the principal Cobb
+ forum for debt/tort)
+ - `ga-magistrate` — small claims, dispossessory, garnishment mechanics
+ - `ga-family-court` — divorce/domestic drafting and the DRFA
+ - `ga-consumer-debt` — debt-collection subject-matter content
+ - `ga-first-30-days` — answer, defenses, counterclaims
+ - `ga-file-packet` — assembling and preflighting a Cobb filing
+ - `ga-schedule-hearing` — Rule Nisi and hearing-setting mechanics
+ - `ga-deadlines` — time computation and the 15-day/10-day DRFA windows
+
+ ## References
+
+ - `references/cobb-superior-local-practice.md` — Superior Court bench,
+ random domestic assignment, local practices, addresses to verify
+ - `references/cobb-standing-orders.md` — full text/summary of the two
+ domestic standing orders and the DRFA / Child Support Worksheet
+ deadlines
+ - `references/cobb-efiling-peachcourt.md` — PeachCourt workflows,
+ auto-generated documents, pro se e-filing
+ - `references/cobb-magistrate-small-claims.md` — small-claims cap,
+ dispossessory, continuing garnishment, FiFa / GED recording