---
title: O.C.G.A. § 41-1-2. Classification of nuisances.
collection: code
id: 41-1-2
cite_as: O.C.G.A. § 41-1-2 (2025)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/41-1-2
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/41-1-2.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/41-1-2/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/document/docs/default-source/joint-features-document-library/t41-t42-(v29a)-2023-pdf.pdf?sfvrsn=4afea80d_0#page=38
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.
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version: the only printed version
in_force: true
current_through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly
heading_path: NUISANCES / GENERAL PROVISIONS
---

# O.C.G.A. § 41-1-2. Classification of nuisances.

Nuisances are either public or private. A public nuisance is one which damages all persons who come within the sphere of its operation, though it may vary in its effects on individuals. A private nuisance is one limited in its injurious effects to one or a few individuals.

## History

Orig. Code 1863, § 2939; Code 1868, § 2946; Code 1873, § 2997; Code 1882, § 2997; Civil Code 1895, § 3858; Civil Code 1910, § 4454; Code 1933, § 72-102.

## Cross References

When infraction of public duty gives cause of action to individual, § 51-1-7.

## Law Reviews

For article discussing federal liability for pollution abatement in condemnation actions, see 17 Mercer L. Rev. 364 (1966).

For note, “Town of Fort Oglethorpe v. Phillips: A Clarification of Georgia’s Public Nuisance Law?,” see 5 Ga. St. B.J. 474 (1969).

For note discussing the abatement of nonconforming uses as nuisances, see 10 Ga. St. B.J. 302 (1973).

For article discussing Georgia’s practice of exposing municipalities to tort liability through the use of nuisance law, see 12 Ga. St. B. J. 11 (1975).

For annual survey of local government law, see 57 Mercer L. Rev. 289 (2005) and 58 Mercer L. Rev. 267 (2006).