HB1160: HB1160 Civil practice; tolling of limitations; provide for surviving relatives in wrongful death actions

Georgia law already pauses, or 'tolls,' the deadline for filing certain tort lawsuits tied to a crime while the criminal prosecution is ongoing, so victims are not forced to sue before the criminal case is resolved. This bill rewrites that law, O.C.G.A. section 9-3-99, to make clear the same pause applies to wrongful death claims brought under Georgia's wrongful death statutes (O.C.G.A. sections 19-7-1, 51-4-2, and 51-4-4) when the death arose from an alleged crime committed in Georgia. Under the revised section, the filing deadline is paused from the date of the crime until the criminal prosecution becomes final or otherwise ends, but the pause cannot exceed six years, except where another statute (O.C.G.A. section 9-3-33.1) says otherwise. The bill repeals any conflicting laws and does not state a special effective date beyond the standard process.

• Rewrites O.C.G.A. section 9-3-99 to specify that wrongful death claims under sections 19-7-1, 51-4-2, and 51-4-4 get the same tolling (pause) of the filing deadline as other crime-related tort claims.
• Caps the tolling period at six years from the date of the alleged crime, unless another statute, O.C.G.A. section 9-3-33.1, provides a different rule.
• Ties the start and end of the pause to the criminal prosecution: it begins at the date of the crime and ends when the criminal case becomes final or otherwise terminated.
• Repeals any existing laws that conflict with this change.

Surviving spouses, children, or other relatives who could bring a wrongful death lawsuit after a family member is killed as the result of an alleged crime in Georgia, as well as defendants in those cases and the courts handling both the criminal and civil proceedings.

Families of crime victims often wait for a criminal case to conclude before pursuing a civil wrongful death claim. This bill clarifies that their time to sue is paused during that wait, up to six years, so they are less likely to lose their right to sue simply because a criminal case took a long time to resolve.

• Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. section 9-3-99 to add wrongful death actions under sections 19-7-1(c), 51-4-2, and 51-4-4 to the list of claims eligible for tolling during a pending criminal prosecution.
• Section 1 keeps the existing six-year maximum tolling period, except where O.C.G.A. section 9-3-33.1 provides otherwise.
• Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws, a standard clause clearing away inconsistent prior statutes.

1. 2026-02-19House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
2. 2026-02-04House Second Readers (House)
3. 2026-02-03House First Readers (House)
4. 2026-02-02House Hopper (House)

• Omari Crawford (D, HD-089)Primary sponsor
• Tyler Smith (R, HD-018)
• Stacey Evans (D, HD-057)
• Soo Hong (R, HD-103)
• Trey Kelley (R, HD-016)
• Martin Momtahan (R, HD-017)

• wrongful death lawsuits
• statute of limitations
• crime victims
• civil law reform