---
title: O.C.G.A. § 23-4-3. Claim of legal and equitable relief by defendant.
collection: code
id: 23-4-3
cite_as: O.C.G.A. § 23-4-3 (2025)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/23-4-3
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/23-4-3.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/23-4-3/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/document/docs/default-source/joint-features-document-library/t22-t23-(v19)-pdf.pdf?sfvrsn=97b2c4_0#page=18
date: 2025
status: active
corpus_version: 2025-supplement-89aa39ab3c68
license: CC0-1.0
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
up: https://georgiacommons.org/code/23-4.md
previous: https://georgiacommons.org/code/23-4-2.md
next: https://georgiacommons.org/code/23-4-4.md
index: https://georgiacommons.org/code/index.md
version: Effective July 1, 2026.
in_force: true
other_versions:
  - version: Effective until July 1, 2026.
    in_force: false
    md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/23-4-3.md?version=until+July+1%2C+2026
current_through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly
heading_path: EQUITY / EQUITY PROCEDURE / GENERAL PROVISIONS
extraction_warnings:
  - bound_version_dropped:None
---

# O.C.G.A. § 23-4-3. Claim of legal and equitable relief by defendant.

A defendant to any action in the superior court or in the Georgia State-wide Business Court or the Georgia Tax Court, whether the action is for legal or equitable relief, may claim legal or equitable relief, or both, by framing proper pleadings for that purpose and sustaining them by sufficient evidence.

## History

Ga. L. 1884-85, p. 36, § 2; Civil Code 1895, § 4837; Civil Code 1910, § 5410; Code 1933, § 37-905; Ga. L. 2019, p. 845, § 3-5/HB 239; Ga. L. 2024, p. 888, § 2-9/HB 1267, effective July 1, 2026.

## Editor's Notes

Ga. L. 2024, p. 888, § 4-1(a)/HB 1267, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that the 2024 amendments to this Code section shall only become effective on July 1, 2026, upon the ratification of a resolution at the November, 2024, state-wide general election that amends the Constitution so as to authorize the General Assembly to provide by general law for the establishment of the Georgia Tax Court with state-wide jurisdiction. If such a resolution is not so ratified, then the amendments to this Code section shall not become effective and shall stand repealed on January 1, 2025. The constitutional amendment proposed in Ga. L. 2024, p. 1189 was approved by a majority of the qualified voters voting at the general election held on November 5, 2024.

## Amendments

The 2024 amendment, effective July 1, 2026, inserted “or the Georgia Tax Court” near the middle of this Code section.

## Delayed Effective Date

Code Section 23-4-3 is set out twice in this Code. This version is effective July 1, 2026. For version effective until July 1, 2026, see the preceding version.