---
title: O.C.G.A. § 9-12-40. Judgment conclusive between which persons and on what issues.
collection: code
id: 9-12-40
cite_as: O.C.G.A. § 9-12-40 (2025)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/9-12-40
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/9-12-40.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/9-12-40/text
source_url: https://archive.org/download/gov.ga.ocga.2024/T09%20Ch12-16%20%28V7A%29%202015.pdf#page=65
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: CIVIL PRACTICE / VERDICT AND JUDGMENT / EFFECT OF JUDGMENTS
---

# O.C.G.A. § 9-12-40. Judgment conclusive between which persons and on what issues.

A judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction shall be conclusive between the same parties and their privies as to all matters put in issue or which under the rules of law might have been put in issue in the cause wherein the judgment was rendered until the judgment is reversed or set aside.

## History

Orig. Code 1863, § 3496; Code 1868, § 3519; Code 1873, § 3577; Code 1882, § 3577; Civil Code 1895, §§ 3742, 5348; Civil Code 1910, §§ 4336, 5943; Code 1933, § 110-501.

## Law Reviews

For article, ‘‘Uninsured Motorist Coverage in Georgia,’’see 4 Ga. St. B.J. 329 (1968). For article surveying Georgia cases dealing with environment, natural resources, and land use from June 1977 through May 1978, see 30 Mercer L. Rev. 75 (1978). For annual survey article on trial practice and procedure, see 50 Mercer L. Rev. 359 (1998). For article, ‘‘Construction Law,’’ see 53 Mercer L. Rev. 173 (2001). For survey article on domestic relations cases for the period from June 1, 2002 through May 31, 2003, see 55 Mercer L. Rev. 223 (2003). For survey article on construction law, see 60 Mercer L. Rev. 59 (2008).

For note, ‘‘Res Judicata in the Georgia Courts,’’ see 11 Ga. L. Rev. 929 (1977). For case note, ‘‘Lynch v. Waters: Tolling Georgia’s Statute of Limitations for Medical Malpractice,’’ see 38 Mercer L. Rev. 1493 (1987).

For case comment, ‘‘Yost v. Torok and Abusive Litigation: A New Tort to Solve an Old Problem,’’ see 21 Ga. L. Rev. 429 (1986).

## History of Code Section.

The language of this Code section is derived in part from the decision in Watkins v. Lawton, 69 Ga. 671 (1882).