ga-state-court · diff
v0.1.0 to v0.1.0
173 added, 29 removed. Audit A to A.
---
name: ga-state-court
description: >
- Use when drafting or filing in a Georgia State Court — the county-level civil-and-misdemeanor trial court (no equity or divorce) where most debt-collection and tort suits are filed. Triggers include "State Court of [County]", "answer a State Court complaint", state-court case-number formats, and State Court local rules. Layers on top of `ga-statewide-format`.
+ Use for any Georgia State Court matter — the county-level limited-
+ jurisdiction trial court that is the principal forum for debt-
+ collection and tort suits. State Court has concurrent civil
+ jurisdiction with the Superior Court over civil actions of ANY
+ amount (no dollar ceiling) plus misdemeanors and traffic, but NO
+ equity, divorce, title to land, or felonies (those are Superior
+ Court exclusive). Triggers: "answer a State Court complaint", "State
+ Court of [county]", "sued in State Court Georgia", "where are debt
+ suits filed in Georgia", "does my county have a State Court", "State
+ Court vs Superior Court Georgia", "Civil Action File No.", "30 days
+ to answer Georgia complaint", "default judgment Georgia State Court".
+ CRITICAL QUIRK: the State/Superior split is by SUBJECT, not by dollar
+ amount; not every county has a State Court (created by local act).
+ Layers on top of `ga-statewide-format`.
version: 0.1.0
---
- # Georgia State Court
+ # Georgia State Court — O.C.G.A. § 15-7-4
- > **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 and
+ > judge-specific standing orders change; verify with the clerk and the
+ > current Uniform State Court Rules before relying on anything here. A
+ > default judgment under O.C.G.A. § 9-11-55 has real, fast
+ > consequences — answer within the deadline and consider consulting a
+ > licensed Georgia attorney or a legal-aid clinic.
- > **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 Georgia **State Court** — the county-level trial court of
+ **limited jurisdiction** created county-by-county by local act of the
+ General Assembly. The State Court is the everyday civil forum for
+ money disputes: it is where most **consumer-debt collection** suits
+ and most **tort** (personal-injury) suits are filed.
- ## State context
+ ## CRITICAL QUIRK: the State/Superior split is by SUBJECT, not dollar amount
- - **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)
+ This is the defining feature and the most common point of confusion.
+ The State Court's jurisdiction (**O.C.G.A. § 15-7-4**) is
+ **concurrent** with the Superior Court over civil actions **of any
+ amount** — there is **no dollar ceiling** in State Court. What the
+ State Court **cannot** hear is a list of **subject matters** reserved
+ exclusively to the **Superior Court** (Ga. Const. art. VI):
- ## What to author
+ - **equity** (injunctions and other equitable relief);
+ - **divorce and domestic-relations** matters;
+ - **title to land**;
+ - **felonies**.
- 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
+ So a $5,000 case and a $5,000,000 case can both sit in State Court,
+ while a $500 equity or title-to-land claim cannot. Do **not** decide
+ the State-vs-Superior question by amount in controversy; decide it by
+ **subject**. A case mixing a money claim with an equitable or
+ title-to-land claim belongs in **Superior Court** — see
+ `ga-county-courts` for the per-county Superior/State routing and
+ transfer practice.
- ## Cross-references
+ ## CRITICAL QUIRK: not every county has a State Court
- - `ga-statewide-format` for format baseline
- - `ga-magistrate` for the small-claims layer
- - `ga-pro-se` for pro se conventions
- - `ga-consumer-debt` for debt-defense substance
+ A State Court exists only where the General Assembly has created one by
+ **local act**. **Fewer than half of Georgia's 159 counties** have a
+ State Court; the large metro counties (including Fulton, Cobb, and
+ Gwinnett) do. **Before assuming State Court is the forum, confirm the
+ filing county actually has one.** If it does not, civil actions of any
+ amount that would otherwise go to State Court are filed in that
+ county's **Superior Court** instead. The per-county check lives in
+ `ga-county-courts`.
+
+ ## What the State Court hears
+
+ - **Civil actions of any amount** (O.C.G.A. § 15-7-4) — concurrent
+ with Superior Court, except the four superior-exclusive subjects
+ above. This is where the consumer-debt bundle's suits typically
+ land.
+ - **Misdemeanors and traffic** offenses.
+
+ It does **not** hear equity, divorce, title to land, or felonies.
+
+ ## Rules that apply
+
+ State Court civil practice runs on the **Georgia Civil Practice Act**
+ (**O.C.G.A. Title 9, Chapter 11** — the "CPA") exactly as in Superior
+ Court, together with the **Uniform State Court Rules** (which parallel
+ the Uniform Superior Court Rules). There is no separate, simplified
+ procedure here — full CPA pleading, discovery, motion, and
+ summary-judgment practice applies. The pleading-format baseline is
+ **O.C.G.A. § 9-11-10** (caption, numbered paragraphs, separate
+ counts) — see `ga-statewide-format`.
+
+ ## Commencement, the answer, and default
+
+ - **Commencement / service** — the plaintiff files a complaint and the
+ clerk issues a summons; service follows **O.C.G.A. § 9-11-4**.
+ - **Answer deadline (O.C.G.A. § 9-11-12(a))** — the defendant's answer
+ is generally due **within 30 days after service of the summons and
+ complaint**. **Confirm the current § 9-11-12(a) period** and the
+ service-method nuances before calendaring. Defenses under
+ § 9-11-12(b) (including a 12(b)(6) motion) may be raised by motion.
+ See `ga-first-30-days`.
+ - **Counterclaims (O.C.G.A. § 9-11-13)** — a counterclaim arising from
+ the same transaction is **compulsory**; raise it with the answer.
+ - **Default judgment (O.C.G.A. § 9-11-55)** — if no answer is filed by
+ the deadline, the case goes into default. A defendant may **open the
+ default as a matter of right within 15 days** by answering and
+ paying costs (subd. (a)), and afterward only on the (b) showing
+ (providential cause / excusable neglect / a proper case, with the
+ rule's conditions). **Verify the current § 9-11-55 windows** — act
+ fast; the as-of-right window is short. See `ga-first-30-days`.
+
+ ## Summary judgment and discovery
+
+ - **Summary judgment (O.C.G.A. § 9-11-56)** — the motion is served at
+ least the rule's number of days before the hearing; under Georgia
+ law a movant may prevail by pointing to the **absence of evidence**
+ on an essential element (*Lau's Corp. v. Haskins*, 261 Ga. 491
+ (1991)). Confirm the current § 9-11-56 timing.
+ - **Discovery** — full CPA discovery applies: interrogatories
+ (O.C.G.A. § 9-11-33, with a cap on the number — verify the current
+ § 9-11-33 limit), requests for production (§ 9-11-34), requests for
+ admission (§ 9-11-36, deemed admitted if not timely answered), and
+ depositions (§ 9-11-30). The discovery period is set by the Uniform
+ State Court Rules. See `ga-discovery`.
+
+ ## Caption — State Court variant
+
+ ```
+ STATE COURT OF [COUNTY] COUNTY
+ STATE OF GEORGIA
+
+ [PLAINTIFF], )
+ )
+ Plaintiff, ) Civil Action File No. _________
+ )
+ v. )
+ )
+ [DEFENDANT], )
+ )
+ Defendant. )
+
+ [DOCUMENT TITLE IN ALL CAPS]
+ ```
+
+ The caption reads **"STATE COURT OF [COUNTY] COUNTY / STATE OF
+ GEORGIA"** and the case number is styled **"Civil Action File No.
+ ____"**. See `ga-statewide-format` for the full pleading paper
+ (margins, line numbering, footer), the numbered-paragraph body
+ (O.C.G.A. § 9-11-10), the certificate of service, and the pro se
+ signature block.
+
+ **Agent behavior:** before drafting, confirm (1) the filing **county
+ actually has a State Court** (else route to Superior Court via
+ `ga-county-courts`), (2) that the claim is **not** equity / divorce /
+ title-to-land / felony (those are Superior-exclusive regardless of
+ amount), (3) the **30-day answer deadline (O.C.G.A. § 9-11-12(a))**
+ and the **§ 9-11-55** default/open-default windows, and (4) the
+ county's **e-filing platform** (PeachCourt vs. Odyssey eFileGA) and
+ local State Court rules — see `ga-county-courts`.
+
+ ## Composition
+
+ - For statewide format and the Georgia caption: `ga-statewide-format`
+ - For the small-claims layer below State Court and de novo appeals up
+ from it: `ga-magistrate`
+ - For per-county routing, Superior/State split, and e-filing platform:
+ `ga-county-courts`
+ - For the answer, defenses, counterclaims, and default avoidance:
+ `ga-first-30-days`
+ - For interrogatories, RFPs, RFAs, and the discovery period:
+ `ga-discovery`
+ - For consumer-debt defenses (chain of title, account-stated, SOL):
+ `ga-consumer-debt`
+ - For deadline computation and Georgia legal holidays: `ga-deadlines`
+ - For assembling and e-filing a packet: `ga-file-packet`
+ - For citation verification: `ga-fact-check`
+
+ ## References
+
+ - `references/state-court-jurisdiction.md` — O.C.G.A. § 15-7-4 scope,
+ the subject-matter (not dollar) split with Superior Court, and the
+ local-act creation requirement
+ - `references/cpa-answer-default.md` — O.C.G.A. § 9-11-12 answer,
+ § 9-11-13 counterclaims, § 9-11-55 default and opening default
+ - `references/state-court-caption.md` — the "STATE COURT OF [COUNTY]
+ COUNTY / STATE OF GEORGIA" caption and "Civil Action File No."
+ conventions