--- title: HB 1160. Civil practice; tolling of limitations; provide for surviving relatives in wrongful death actions collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb1160 cite_as: HB 1160, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1160 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1160.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1160/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72732 date: 2026-02-19 status: introduced corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13 license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1159.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1161.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 199 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1160.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 1160 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2026-02-02 last_action: House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute sponsors: - Omari Crawford - Tyler Smith - Stacey Evans - Soo Hong - Trey Kelley - Martin Momtahan text_version: Comm Sub has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1160/2025 upstream_id: 2104366 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - wrongful death lawsuits - statute of limitations - crime victims - civil lawsuits - Georgia courts --- # HB 1160. Civil practice; tolling of limitations; provide for surviving relatives in wrongful death actions ## Text The House Committee on Judiciary offers the following substitute to HB 1160: A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Article 5 of Chapter 3 of Title 9 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to tolling of limitations, so as to provide for the tolling of limitations for certain wrongful death actions; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA: SECTION 1. Article 5 of Chapter 3 of Title 9 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to tolling of limitations, is amended by revising Code Section 9-3-99, relating to tolling of limitations for tort actions while criminal prosecution is pending, as follows: "9-3-99. The running of the period of limitations with respect to any cause of action in tort that may be brought by the victim of an alleged crime or that may be brought under subsection (c) of Code Section 19-7-1 or Code Section 51-4-2 or 51-4-4 for the wrongful death of the victim of an alleged crime which arises out of the facts and circumstances relating to the commission of such alleged crime committed in this state shall be tolled from the date of the commission of the alleged crime or the act giving rise to such action in tort until the prosecution of such crime or act has become final or otherwise terminated, provided that such time does not exceed six years, except as otherwise provided in Code Section 9-3-33.1." SECTION 2. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed. ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary. A Georgia House bill would extend a legal pause on the filing deadline for wrongful death lawsuits, allowing surviving relatives of crime victims to wait until a related criminal case is resolved before their filing clock resumes. ### Plain-language summary Georgia law currently pauses, or 'tolls,' the deadline for a crime victim to file a civil lawsuit related to that crime while the criminal prosecution is ongoing, so the victim does not lose their right to sue while the criminal case plays out. This bill extends that same pause to wrongful death lawsuits filed by a victim's surviving relatives or estate. The bill amends O.C.G.A. § 9-3-99 so that the filing deadline for wrongful death claims brought under Georgia's wrongful death statutes (O.C.G.A. §§ 19-7-1, 51-4-2, and 51-4-4) is also paused from the date of the crime until the criminal prosecution becomes final or otherwise ends. As under current law, the pause cannot last longer than six years, with an exception already written into O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33.1. The bill repeals any conflicting laws. ### What it does - Extends the existing pause on lawsuit deadlines for crime victims to also cover wrongful death claims brought by surviving relatives or an estate. - Applies the pause specifically to wrongful death claims filed under O.C.G.A. §§ 19-7-1(c), 51-4-2, and 51-4-4. - Keeps the same six-year cap on how long the deadline can be paused, except where O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33.1 already provides otherwise. - Ties the length of the pause to when the related criminal prosecution becomes final or otherwise ends. ### Who it affects Surviving spouses, children, and other relatives (or the estate) of someone killed as the result of an alleged crime, as well as criminal defendants facing related civil wrongful death suits, and Georgia courts handling wrongful death litigation. ### Why it matters Families of crime victims who die from the crime would get more time to file a wrongful death lawsuit while the criminal case is still pending, preventing the civil filing deadline from expiring before the criminal prosecution concludes. ### Key provisions - Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 9-3-99 to add wrongful death claims under O.C.G.A. § 19-7-1(c) and §§ 51-4-2 and 51-4-4 to the list of claims eligible for tolling. - The pause runs from the date of the alleged crime until the related prosecution becomes final or is otherwise terminated. - The tolling period cannot exceed six years, except as otherwise allowed under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33.1. - Section 2 repeals any existing laws that conflict with this change. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2026-02-02) - Last action: House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (2026-02-19) - Sponsors: Omari Crawford, Tyler Smith, Stacey Evans, Soo Hong, Trey Kelley, Martin Momtahan - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72732 > The history, votes, and amendments (199 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1160.md?full=1