--- name: ga-state-court description: > 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 — O.C.G.A. § 15-7-4 > **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. 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. ## CRITICAL QUIRK: the State/Superior split is by SUBJECT, not dollar amount 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): - **equity** (injunctions and other equitable relief); - **divorce and domestic-relations** matters; - **title to land**; - **felonies**. 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. ## CRITICAL QUIRK: not every county has a State Court 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