---
title: O.C.G.A. § 9-3-96. Tolling of limitations for fraud of defendant.
collection: code
id: 9-3-96
cite_as: O.C.G.A. § 9-3-96 (2025)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/9-3-96
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/9-3-96.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/9-3-96/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/document/docs/default-source/joint-features-document-library/t9-ch1-10-(v6)-2023-pdf.pdf?sfvrsn=f3cabc45_0#page=363
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 / LIMITATIONS OF ACTIONS / TOLLING OF LIMITATIONS
---

# O.C.G.A. § 9-3-96. Tolling of limitations for fraud of defendant.

If the defendant or those under whom he claims are guilty of a fraud by which the plaintiff has been debarred or deterred from bringing an action, the period of limitation shall run only from the time of the plaintiff’s discovery of the fraud.

## History

Ga. L. 1855-56, p. 233, § 30; Code 1863, § 2872; Code 1868, § 2880; Code 1873, § 2931; Code 1882, § 2931; Civil Code 1895, § 3785; Civil Code 1910, § 4380; Code 1933, § 3-807.

## Cross References

Barring of actions in equity due to laches, § 23-1-25.

## Law Reviews

For comment on Saffold v. Scarborough, 91 Ga. App. 628, 86 S.E.2d 649 (1955), see 18 Ga. B.J. 79 (1955).

For comment on Clinton v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 110 Ga. App. 417, 138 S.E.2d 687 (1964), see 1 Ga. St. B.J. 553 (1965).

For case note, “Lynch v. Waters: Tolling Georgia’s Statute of Limitations for Medical Malpractice,” see 38 Mercer L. Rev. 1493 (1987).

For article, “A Comprehensive Analysis of Georgia RICO,” see 9 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 537 (1993).

For annual survey article discussing trial practice and procedure, see 51 Mercer L. Rev. 487 (1999).

For annual survey on real property law, see 61 Mercer L. Rev. 301 (2009).

For annual survey on zoning and land use law, see 61 Mercer L. Rev. 427 (2009).

For annual survey on wills, trusts, guardianships, and fiduciary administration, see 66 Mercer L. Rev. 231 (2014).

For annual survey of tort laws, see 67 Mercer L. Rev. 237 (2015).

For annual survey on trial practice and procedure, see 67 Mercer L. Rev. 257 (2015).

For note, “Forty-Eight States are Probably Not Wrong: An Argument for Mod-ernizing Georgia’s Legal Malpractice Statute of Limitations,” see 33 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 805 (2017).

For annual survey on product liability, see 69 Mercer L. Rev. 231 (2017).

For annual survey on torts, see 74 Mercer L. Rev. 243 (2022).