To sue a company in Georgia, you confirm your filing deadline hasn’t passed, choose the right court for the amount and type of relief you want, draft and file a complaint with a summons, serve the company’s registered agent, respond to whatever the company files back, work through discovery, and, if you win, use the state’s collection tools to actually get paid. Each step has rules that can sink your case if you skip them, and the first one is unforgiving.
Confirm Your Filing Deadline Before Anything Else
Georgia’s statutes of limitations are strict. Judges have almost no discretion to extend them, and a case filed one day late gets dismissed. The clock usually starts on the date of the injury or breach. For some claims, Georgia recognizes a discovery rule that starts the clock when you knew or should have known about the harm through reasonable diligence.1Justia. Georgia Code 9-3-96 – Tolling of Limitations for Fraud
The deadlines you’re most likely to run into when suing a company:
- Personal injury: two years from the date of injury.2Justia. Georgia Code 9-3-33 – Injuries to the Person
- Written contracts: six years from the date the obligation became due.3Justia. Georgia Code 9-3-24 – Actions on Simple Written Contracts
- Oral contracts: four years from the date the obligation became due, under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-25.
- Property damage: four years from the date of damage.4Justia. Georgia Code 9-3-30 – Trespass or Damage to Realty
- Fraud: four years, with the clock tolled until the fraud is discovered or should have been discovered with reasonable diligence.1Justia. Georgia Code 9-3-96 – Tolling of Limitations for Fraud
If a deadline is close, file first and refine later. An imperfect complaint can be amended. An expired statute of limitations cannot be fixed.
Send a Demand Letter First
Before filing, a written demand letter to the company is almost always worth sending. Georgia law lets a jury award litigation expenses when a defendant acted in bad faith or was stubbornly litigious, and courts are more willing to find bad faith when the defendant ignored a clear demand and forced you to sue.5FindLaw. Georgia Code 13-6-11 – Expenses of Litigation A demand also gives the company a chance to settle before you spend money on court costs.
One boundary to flag: if the “company” is actually a government entity, Georgia requires an ante-litem notice before you file. For cities, you have six months to submit a written claim to the governing authority describing the time, place, and nature of the injury under O.C.G.A. § 36-33-5. For counties and state agencies, the deadline is twelve months under O.C.G.A. § 36-11-1 and § 50-21-26. Miss the notice and your lawsuit is barred no matter how strong the claim is.
Pick the Right Court
Georgia has three state trial courts that hear civil cases, and filing in the wrong one costs time and money.
Magistrate Court handles claims of $15,000 or less and is built to be used without a lawyer.6Justia. Georgia Code 15-10-2 – General Jurisdiction; Authority of Magistrate to Act The rules of evidence are relaxed and cases move faster. State Court takes larger money claims and has broader authority. Superior Court has the widest jurisdiction and is the only court that can grant injunctions or other equitable relief, so pick it when you need more than money.
Which County to File In
For a lawsuit against a corporation, venue runs through the county where the company maintains its registered office. That’s the default for a general civil case. For a contract dispute, you can also file in a county where the contract was made or is to be performed, provided the company has an office and does business there. For tort claims, you can file where the harm originated, but the company can transfer the case to the county of its principal place of business within 45 days.7Justia. Georgia Code 14-2-510 – Venue
Look up the registered office and registered agent through the Georgia Secretary of State’s business search database. If no registered office is on file, venue defaults to the last known registered or principal office on record.7Justia. Georgia Code 14-2-510 – Venue Contracts sometimes contain their own venue clauses, and courts generally enforce them unless the clause is unreasonable.
When Federal Court Is an Option
Federal court comes into play if your claim rests on federal law, or if you and the company are citizens of different states and your claim exceeds $75,000.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1332 – Diversity of Citizenship; Amount in Controversy; Costs You can file directly in federal court, or file in state court and risk the company removing it. A defendant has 30 days after service to file a notice of removal. One catch: if the defendant is a Georgia citizen, it cannot remove a Georgia state court case on diversity grounds alone.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1441 – Removal of Civil Actions
Draft and File the Complaint
The lawsuit officially begins when you file your complaint with the court clerk. The complaint has to identify the defendant by its exact legal name (verify this through the Secretary of State), describe the facts, state the legal basis for relief, and specify what you want.
Georgia uses a notice-pleading standard, which means enough factual detail to put the company on notice without laying out your whole case. Fraud is the exception. If you’re alleging fraud, you have to describe the circumstances with specificity.10Justia. Georgia Code 9-11-9 – Pleading Special Matters For breach of contract, attach the contract. The complaint needs a caption with the court name and parties, and it must be signed by you or your attorney.11Justia. Georgia Code 9-11-11 – Signing of Pleadings
You also prepare a summons, the formal notice telling the company it’s been sued and how long it has to respond. The clerk signs it.12Justia. Georgia Code 9-11-4 – Process In Magistrate Court you typically fill out a simpler Statement of Claim form instead of drafting a full complaint. If you need a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction, that’s a separate motion under Georgia’s injunction rules.13Justia. Georgia Code 9-11-65 – Injunctions and Restraining Orders
Many Superior and State Courts now require electronic filing.14Georgia Courts. E-File Court Records Confirm your court’s rule before you go to the clerk’s window, because mandatory e-filing courts won’t accept paper. Magistrate Courts generally still accept in-person or mailed filings.
What It Costs to File
Filing fees vary by court and county. Magistrate Court civil filings run roughly $60 to $105. Superior Court civil filings run roughly $200 to $220, often with added charges for the law library and alternative dispute resolution fund. Service of the defendant is a separate fee, and additional charges accumulate for amended filings, motions, and subpoenas.
If you can’t afford the fees, Georgia allows an Affidavit of Indigence. If accepted, you proceed without paying costs and your rights are the same as any other filer. The opposing party or the court can challenge the affidavit and require a hearing on your ability to pay.15Justia. Georgia Code 9-15-2 – Affidavit of Indigence; Procedure When Filing Party Not Represented by Counsel
Serve the Company
After filing, you have to formally deliver the summons and complaint to the company. Service of process is what gives the court power over the defendant, and getting it wrong stalls your case.
For a corporation, service goes to the registered agent listed with the Secretary of State. If there’s no agent on file or the agent can’t be located, service can go to an officer or responsible person at the company’s principal place of business. The person delivering the papers has to be authorized: a county sheriff, marshal, or certified private process server. Georgia’s sheriff fee is $50 per service.16Justia. Georgia Code 15-16-21 – Fees for Sheriff’s Services Private process servers often cost more and move faster. Once service is done, the server files proof with the court showing when, where, and to whom the papers went.
If the company evades service, you can ask the court for permission to serve by publication in the county’s official legal newspaper after showing your unsuccessful attempts in an affidavit.12Justia. Georgia Code 9-11-4 – Process If the company is based outside Georgia, you use the long-arm statute, which lets Georgia courts reach out-of-state businesses that transact business here, commit a wrongful act here, or derive substantial revenue from goods or services used in the state.17Justia. Georgia Code 9-10-91 – Grounds for Exercise of Personal Jurisdiction Over Nonresident Out-of-state service can typically be done by certified mail or through an authorized agent in that state.
What the Company Will Do Next
Once served, the company has 30 days to file a written answer.18Justia. Georgia Code 9-11-12 – Answer, Defenses, and Objections If it does nothing, you can ask the court for a default judgment. Default is not automatic. The court still reviews whether your complaint states a valid claim, and the defendant can sometimes get a default set aside by showing good cause for the delay.
More commonly the company files one or more of three things: an answer disputing your facts or legal theories, a counterclaim alleging you owe it something, or a motion to dismiss arguing a fatal legal flaw. A motion to dismiss is the company’s first real attempt to end your case early, usually on improper venue, failure to state a claim, or an expired statute of limitations. If the court denies the motion, you move into discovery.
Discovery and Summary Judgment
Discovery is where both sides exchange information, and it’s usually the longest and most expensive phase. You can send written questions the company must answer under oath, request internal documents like emails and financial records, and take depositions of company employees. The company has the same rights against you. Georgia courts generally allow about six months for discovery, though extensions are common.
Most cases are decided here, not at trial. The documents and testimony either prove your case or expose weaknesses the company will use. If internal records show clear liability, a favorable settlement becomes much more likely. If the evidence is thin, the company will move for summary judgment, arguing there’s no genuine dispute of material fact. You can file the same motion if the evidence overwhelmingly supports you. Cases that survive summary judgment proceed to trial, but most civil cases in Georgia settle before then, often once both sides see what discovery produced.
Who Pays the Attorney Fees
Georgia follows the American Rule: each side pays its own attorney fees regardless of who wins. Many plaintiffs are surprised by this. Winning does not entitle you to be reimbursed for legal costs unless a specific exception applies.
The main exception is O.C.G.A. § 13-6-11, which lets a jury award litigation expenses when the defendant acted in bad faith, was stubbornly litigious, or caused unnecessary trouble and expense.5FindLaw. Georgia Code 13-6-11 – Expenses of Litigation You have to specifically request these expenses in your complaint. A separate statute, O.C.G.A. § 9-15-14, lets the court award attorney fees against a party who brought or defended a claim that was substantially frivolous, groundless, or vexatious.19Justia. Georgia Code 9-15-14 – Litigation Costs and Attorney’s Fees It cuts both ways. If the company proves your lawsuit was baseless, you could be ordered to pay its fees.
Beyond attorney fees, budget for service of process, deposition transcripts, expert witnesses if you need technical testimony, and the running total of court fees for motions. In complex commercial disputes, these add up to thousands of dollars before trial.
Collecting on a Judgment
Winning doesn’t mean the company writes you a check. If it refuses to pay, you go back to court with enforcement tools. A judgment stays enforceable for seven years, and you can renew it to prevent it from going dormant.20Justia. Georgia Code 9-12-60 – When Judgment Becomes Dormant If you let it go dormant, you have three years to revive it through a separate court action.21Justia. Georgia Code 9-12-61 – Dormant Judgments Renewed by Action or Scire Facias
The most direct tool is garnishment, which lets you intercept funds from the company’s bank accounts or from third parties who owe it money. You file an affidavit stating the judgment amount and the court that entered it.22Justia. Georgia Code 18-4-3 – Affidavit and Requirements; Summons of Garnishment The company can contest the garnishment, but without a valid defense the funds come to you. You can also record a judgment lien against the company’s real or personal property, which prevents sale or transfer until the debt is satisfied.23Justia. Georgia Code 44-14-320 – Certain Liens Established As a last resort, you can seek a writ of execution authorizing the sheriff to seize and sell company assets. Enforcement rewards persistence. Companies that lose sometimes drag their feet, restructure, or move assets around.
If the Company Files for Bankruptcy
A company facing a judgment it can’t or won’t pay sometimes files for bankruptcy, and this changes everything. The moment the petition is filed, an automatic stay halts all pending lawsuits and collection efforts.24Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 362 – Automatic Stay Your lawsuit is paused, not dismissed, but you cannot continue litigating or collecting while the stay is in place.
To preserve any right to collect, you file a proof of claim in the bankruptcy case. Deadlines vary by chapter, but in most Chapter 7 cases the deadline is 70 days after the bankruptcy filing.25Legal Information Institute. Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 3002 – Filing Proof of Claim or Interest Miss that window and your claim may be disallowed. Even if you file on time, collecting from a bankrupt company often means pennies on the dollar. Unsecured creditors, which most judgment holders are, get paid last after secured creditors and administrative expenses, and the bankruptcy court controls the distribution.
Taxes on What You Collect
Money you receive from a lawsuit may be taxable, and the answer depends on what the payment compensates. Damages for physical injuries or physical sickness are excluded from gross income under federal tax law.26Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 104 – Compensation for Injuries or Sickness Most other categories are generally taxable, including emotional distress damages that don’t stem from a physical injury, lost profits, breach of contract damages, and punitive damages.
The IRS does not treat emotional distress as a physical injury even when it causes physical symptoms like headaches or insomnia. One narrow exception: if you paid for medical treatment related to emotional distress, you can exclude an amount equal to those medical costs.26Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 104 – Compensation for Injuries or Sickness If you receive $600 or more in a taxable settlement, expect the company to report it to the IRS. How the settlement agreement allocates payments across categories of damages directly affects your tax bill, so negotiate that allocation carefully before you sign.