Official Code of Georgia Annotated

Title 9. CIVIL PRACTICE · Chapter 2. ACTIONS GENERALLY · Article 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS

9-2-5. Prosecution of two simultaneous actions for same cause against same party prohibited; election; pendency of former action as defense; exception.

Active

Current through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly.

(a)
No plaintiff may prosecute two actions in the courts at the same time for the same cause of action and against the same party. If two such actions are commenced simultaneously, the defendant may require the plaintiff to elect which he will prosecute. If two such actions are commenced at different times, the pendency of the former shall be a good defense to the latter.#
(b)
The rule requiring a plaintiff to elect shall not apply to a prior attachment against property where the defendant is subsequently served personally nor to an attachment obtained during the pendency of an action. However, the judgment in the case against the person shall set out the fact of its identity with the proceedings against the property.#

The notes below are printed with the section but are not enacted law (O.C.G.A. § 1-1-1(c)). They are shown apart from the text.

History

Orig. Code 1863, §§ 2835, 2836; Code 1868, §§ 2843, 2844; Code 1873, §§ 2894, 2895; Code 1882, §§ 2894, 2895; Civil Code 1895, §§ 3737, 3739; Civil Code 1910, §§ 4331, 4333; Code 1933, §§ 3-601, 3-605; Ga. L. 1982, p. 3, § 9.

Cross references

Pendency of former action good cause for abatement of latter on same cause, § 9-2-44.

Law reviews

For survey article on trial practice and procedure, see 34 Mercer L. Rev. 299 (1982). For article, “Defending the Lawsuit: A First-Round Checklist,” see 22 Ga. St. B.J. 24 (1985).

Read the official page (the state's PDF, opened at the page this text was read from).

Current through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly.

Text read from t9-ch1-10-(v6)-2023-pdf.pdf, Volume V6, 2023 edition, page 27; merge action: annotated; file SHA-256 ea8a520ad52f.

Ask about this section

The answer is drawn from this section and, when they fit, the other sections of its chapter. It quotes the text and names the section for each claim. Not legal advice.