New Law Requiring Filing of Initiation and Disposition Forms for Civil Cases
The 2000 Georgia General Assembly enacted Act No. 716 (Senate Bill 176), amending Titles 9 and 15 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated which relate respectively to civil practice and the courts, to require filing of case inititation and disposition forms in all civil cases filed in superior court and state court. The act provides the following (with amendments to existing statutes underlined):
"9-11-3. 28 (a) A civil action is commenced by filing a complaint with the court. (b) At the time of filing the complaint for a civil action in Superior court or State court, or as soon as practicable thereafter, the plaintiff shall file the appropriate civil case filing form with the clerk of the court. The form shall be substantially in the form prescribed in Code Section 9-11-133. The filing of the complaint shall not be delayed for the filing of the case filing form."
"9-11-58. 9 (b) When judgment entered. The filing with the clerk of a judgment, signed by the judge, constitutes the entry of the judgment, and, unless the court otherwise directs, no judgment shall be effective for any purpose until the entry of the same, as provided in this subsection. At the time of the filing of the final judgment, a civil case disposition form shall be filed by the prevailing party or by the plaintiff if the case is settled, dismissed, or otherwise disposed of without a prevailing party. The form shall be substantially in the form prescribed in Code Section 9-11-133. If any of the information required by the form is sealed by the court, the form shall state that fact and the information under seal shall not be provided. The entry of the judgment shall not be delayed for the taxing of costs or the filing of the case disposition form."
The act is effective on July 1, 2000, at which time the judges of the superior court and state court will begin enforcing its provisions.
A copy of the required forms is provided at http://www.gsccca.org/filesandforms/sb176forms.asp. The forms have been approved and consented to by the Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority and the Georgia Court Automation Commission, as required within the new statute. The approved forms are:
- General Civil Case Filing Information Form (Non-Domestic)
- General Civil Case Final Disposition Form
- Domestic Relations Case Filing Information Form
- Domestic Relations Final Disposition Form
A completed General Civil Case Filing Information Form (Non-Domestic) should be submitted at the time of filing any non-domestic, civil action in superior court and, because state court does not have jurisdiction over domestic relations, should accompany all civil actions filed in state court. A completed Domestic Relations Case Filing Information Form should be filed at the time of filing a domestic relations action- including petitions pertaining to divorce, annulment, separate maintenance, adoption, paternity, legitimation, Interstate Support Enforcement, domestication of a foreign custody decree, and the Family Violence Act.
Correspondingly, a completed Domestic Relations Final Disposition Form and/or the General Civil Case Final Disposition Form (depending upon the type of case affected) should be completed and filed by the prevailing party or by the plaintiff if the case is settled, dismissed, or otherwise disposed of without a prevailing party, at the time of filing the final judgment.
The forms are simple in design and, hopefully, should not require a great deal of time or effort to complete.
Clerks of superior court throughout the state will greatly appreciate you or your staff tendering the appropriate, completed form as the first page of each civil action and final disposition which you file on or after July 1, 2000.