---
title: SB 173. Pleadings and Motions; movants to file notices of uncontested motions in superior courts and state courts; authorize
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/sb173
cite_as: SB 173, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb173
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb173.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb173/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70341
date: 2026-04-02
status: engrossed
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.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 1290
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb173.md?full=1
bill_number: SB 173
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: Senate
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2025-03-06
last_action: Senate Agreed House Amend or Sub As Amended
sponsors:
- Josh McLaurin
- Blake Tillery
- Brian Strickland
- Jason Esteves
- Elena Parent
- Harold Jones
- Stan Gunter
text_version: Comm Sub
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB173/2025
upstream_id: 1970317
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- civil court procedure
- judicial delays
- court reform
- pretrial motions
- superior courts
---
# SB 173. Pleadings and Motions; movants to file notices of uncontested motions in superior courts and state courts; authorize
## Text
The House Committee on Judiciary offers the following substitute to SB 173:
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Article 3 of Chapter 11 of Title 9 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to pleadings and motions, so as to authorize movants to file notices of uncontested
motions in superior courts and state courts; to provide for uncontested motions to be deemed
granted and entered; to provide for review by chief judge of any judge with two uncontested
motions deemed granted on his or her docket; to provide for management reports regarding
each such review; to provide for statutory construction; to require that parties to a case
provide a copy of filed motions or notices to the judge assigned to such case; to provide for
instructions on how to provide such copies; 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 3 of Chapter 11 of Title 9 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
pleadings and motions, is amended by adding new Code sections to read as follows:
"9-11-16.1.
(a) In the event that a superior court judge or a state court judge fails to rule upon a
properly served pretrial motion before him or her to which no objection has been filed by
any party or any valid intervenor within 60 days of the filing of such motion, the moving
party may file a notice of uncontested motion with such judge.
(b) Should a judge continue to fail to rule upon a motion before him or her within seven
days of the filing of a notice of uncontested motion pursuant to subsection (a) of this Code
section, such motion shall thereafter be deemed granted and entered.
(c) The operation of subsection (a) or (b) of this Code section shall be tolled during any
period that a hearing on the motion is scheduled until the day after such hearing is held.
(d) In the event that a judge has a motion deemed granted and entered pursuant to
subsection (b) of this Code section in two or more cases before such judge within two
years, the chief judge of the court at issue may conduct a review of the docket management
techniques and procedures of such judge and may issue a report of his or her findings.
(e) Nothing in this Code section shall prohibit any court from conducting any review of
its own operations of its own initiative.
9-11-16.2.
(a) Whenever a party to a case files a motion or notice with a court in this state pursuant
to the provisions of this chapter, the party shall cause a copy of such motion or notice to
be provided to the judge assigned to the case in which such motion or notice is filed or to
another designee as identified by such judge.
(b) Each judge of a court in which the provisions of this chapter apply shall, by the
issuance of a standing order or any other manner, provide instructions on how parties to
any case before such judge can provide copies of filed motions or notices to such judge
pursuant to the provisions of subsection (a) of this Code section."
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 Senate bill would let parties in superior and state court cases force a ruling on a stalled motion by filing an uncontested motion notice, after which the motion is deemed granted if the judge still doesn't rule within seven days.
### Plain-language summary
Currently Georgia law does not set a firm deadline forcing judges to rule on pretrial motions that no one has objected to. This bill creates a process for that. If a judge sits on an unopposed pretrial motion for 60 days without ruling, the party who filed it can file a 'notice of uncontested motion.' If the judge still does not rule within seven days after that notice, the motion is automatically considered granted and entered into the record. That deadline pauses if a hearing on the motion gets scheduled, resuming the day after the hearing.
The bill also creates oversight: if a judge racks up two or more of these automatically granted motions within two years, the chief judge of that court can review the judge's docket management and issue findings. Separately, the bill requires parties filing any motion or notice to also send a copy directly to the assigned judge, and requires judges to issue instructions (such as a standing order) on how to receive those copies.
### What it does
- Lets a party file a notice of uncontested motion when a superior or state court judge has not ruled on an unopposed pretrial motion within 60 days of filing.
- Automatically deems the motion granted and entered if the judge still fails to rule within seven days after the notice is filed.
- Pauses (tolls) these deadlines while a hearing on the motion is scheduled, resuming the count the day after the hearing.
- Authorizes the chief judge of a court to review a judge's docket management practices and issue a findings report if that judge has two or more motions automatically granted within a two-year span.
- Requires parties filing any motion or notice under this chapter to send a copy directly to the judge assigned to the case, and requires judges to set instructions for how that copy should be delivered.
### Who it affects
Superior court and state court judges in Georgia, along with attorneys and parties involved in civil litigation who file pretrial motions. Chief judges of these courts gain new oversight authority over colleagues whose motions repeatedly go unaddressed.
### Why it matters
Litigants who file unopposed motions could get a faster resolution instead of waiting indefinitely for a ruling, since inaction after the notice period results in automatic approval. The bill also creates a mechanism for chief judges to check on judges whose dockets show repeated delays.
### Key provisions
- New Code Section 9-11-16.1(a) allows a moving party to file a notice of uncontested motion after 60 days pass without a ruling on an unopposed pretrial motion.
- Subsection (b) states the motion is deemed granted and entered if the judge still has not ruled seven days after the notice is filed.
- Subsection (c) tolls (pauses) these time limits while a hearing on the motion is scheduled, restarting the day after the hearing occurs.
- Subsection (d) lets the chief judge of the court review a judge's docket practices and issue a findings report if that judge has two or more motions deemed granted within two years.
- Subsection (e) clarifies the new law does not stop a court from reviewing its own operations on its own initiative.
- New Code Section 9-11-16.2 requires parties to send a copy of any filed motion or notice to the assigned judge and requires judges to instruct parties on how to do so.
- Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.
## Status
- Status: Engrossed (2025-03-06)
- Last action: Senate Agreed House Amend or Sub As Amended (2026-04-02)
- Sponsors: Josh McLaurin, Blake Tillery, Brian Strickland, Jason Esteves, Elena Parent, Harold Jones, Stan Gunter
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70341
> The history, votes, and amendments (1,290 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb173.md?full=1