Guidelines For Seeking Damages In Dispossessory Actions In Georgia Magistrate Court

• Published date: 12 August 2022
• Subject Matter: Real Estate and Construction, Landlord & Tenant - Leases
• Law Firm: Holland & Knight
• Author: Ms Talis C. Trevino and A Andre Hendrick

Knowing the requirements and limitations of Georgia magistrate courts is important to understanding when litigating in multiple courts - i.e., claims and counterclaims being severed and partially transferred to state court - is a potential outcome. Hiring an attorney who knows the nuances of the interplay between Georgia's magistrate courts and state courts will allow the landlord to effectively litigate its dispossessory action.

Background

Georgia's magistrate courts are courts of limited jurisdiction. Even though the jurisdictional limitations are enumerated in O.C.G.A. ' 15-10-2, questions have nonetheless arisen regarding statutory interpretation, particularly with respect to dispossessory actions that also involve claims and/or counterclaims seeking monetary damages in excess of the magistrate courts' jurisdictional limits. Pursuant to O.C.G.A. ' 15-10-2(5), a claimant in magistrate court may not seek damages in a civil suit in excess of $15,000. That being said, O.C.G.A. ' 15-10-2(6) provides magistrate courts an independent basis to exercise jurisdiction over the issuance of writs and judgments in dispossessory proceedings. This begs the question as to whether the $15,000 jurisdictional cap set forth in O.C.G.A. ' 15-10-2(5) serves as a limitation on the amount of rent and other damages that a landlord may seek in a dispossessory action filed in magistrate court under O.C.G.A. ' 15-10-2(6).

The Georgia appellate courts have attempted to harmonize the interplay between Sections (5) and (6) by distinguishing between monetary claims typically sought by the landlord in a dispossessory proceeding, such as for past due rent, late fees and attorneys' fees (i.e., "Section 6" cases), versus other contractual or tort claims, even though said claims may arise in the context of the landlord-tenant relationship (i.e., "Section 5" cases). For example, the Georgia Court of Appeals has clearly stated that the $15,000 cap set forth in O.C.G.A. ' 15-10-2(5) does not apply to claims arising under O.C.G.A. ' 15-10-2(6). See Atlanta J's, Inc. v. Houston Foods, Inc., 237 Ga. App. 415, 417, 514 S.E.2d 216, 218 (1999) (overruled on other grounds) ("[n]othing in the statute suggests that, where the magistrate court acquires jurisdiction under subsection 6, the extent of such jurisdiction is circumscribed by the [monetary] limitation set forth in subsection 5."). See also Blocker Farms of Florida, Inc. v. Bell, Case No. 06:13-cv-067, 2014 WL 12573839 (S.D. Ga. Sept. 15...