---
title: O.C.G.A. § 51-6-2. When misrepresentation of material fact actionable as deceit; effect of mere concealment; knowledge of falsehood essential to deceit; when knowledge implied.
collection: code
id: 51-6-2
cite_as: O.C.G.A. § 51-6-2 (2025)
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source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/document/docs/default-source/joint-features-document-library/t51-(v39)-2017-pdf.pdf?sfvrsn=6b891965_0#page=624
date: 2025
status: active
corpus_version: 2025-supplement-89aa39ab3c68
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publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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current_through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly
heading_path: TORTS / FRAUD AND DECEIT
---

# O.C.G.A. § 51-6-2. When misrepresentation of material fact actionable as deceit; effect of mere concealment; knowledge of falsehood essential to deceit; when knowledge implied.

(a) Willful misrepresentation of a material fact, made to induce another to act, upon which such person acts to his injury, will give him a right of action. Mere concealment of a material fact, unless done in such a manner as to deceive and mislead, will not support an action.

(b) In all cases of deceit, knowledge of the falsehood constitutes an essential element of the tort. A fraudulent or reckless representation of facts as true when they are not, if intended to deceive, is equivalent to a knowledge of their falsehood even if the party making the representation does not know that such facts are false.

## History

Orig. Code 1863, § 2901; Code 1868, § 2907; Code 1873, § 2958; Code 1882, § 2958; Civil Code 1895, § 3814; Civil Code 1910, § 4410; Code 1933, § 105-302.

## Law Reviews

For note discussing limits of tort action for deceit as a consumer remedy, see 25 Emory L.J. 445 (1976). For note, ‘‘Misrepresentations and Nondisclosures in the Insurance Application,’’ see 13 Ga. L. Rev. 876 (1979).

For comment on Aderhold v. Zimmer, 86 Ga. App. 204, 71 S.E.2d 270 (1952), see 15 Ga. B. J. 355 (1953). For comment on Gardner v. Celanese Corp. of America, 88 Ga. App. 642, 76 S.E.2d 817 (1953), see 16 Ga. B. J. 340 (1954). For comment on Whiten v. Orr Constr. Co., 109 Ga. App. 267, 136 S.E.2d 136 (1964), see 1 Ga. St. B. J. 234 (1964).