O.C.G.A. § 16-15-7 (2019)
Real property used by criminal street gangs declared public nuisance; abatement; persons injured by gangs entitled to treble damages
(a) Any real property which is erected, established, maintained, owned, leased, or used by any criminal street gang for the purpose of conducting criminal gang activity shall constitute a public nuisance and may be abated as provided by Title 41, relating to nuisances.
(b) An action to abate a nuisance pursuant to this Code section may be brought by the district attorney, solicitor-general, prosecuting attorney of a municipal court or city, or county attorney in any superior, state, or municipal court.
(c) Any person who is injured by reason of criminal gang activity shall have a cause of action for three times the actual damages sustained and, where appropriate, punitive damages; provided, however, that no cause of action shall arise under this subsection as a result of an otherwise legitimate commercial transaction between parties to a contract or agreement for the sale of lawful goods or property or the sale of securities regulated by Chapter 5 of Title 10 or by the federal Securities and Exchange Commission. Such person shall also recover attorney’s fees in the trial and appellate court and costs of investigation and litigation reasonably incurred. All averments of a cause of action under this subsection shall be stated with particularity. No judgment shall be awarded unless the finder of fact determines that the action is consistent with the intent of the General Assembly as set forth in Code Section 16-15-2.
(d) The state, any political subdivision thereof, or any person aggrieved by a criminal street gang or criminal gang activity may bring an action to enjoin violations of this chapter in the same manner as provided in Code Section 16-14-6.
History
Code 1981, § 16-15-7, enacted by Ga. L. 1998, p. 270, § 8; Ga. L. 2010, p. 230, § 4/HB 1015.
Annotations
Editor’s notes. Ga. L. 1998, p. 270, § 8, effective April
1, 1998, renumbered former Code Section 16-15-7 as present Code Section 16-15-6, and enacted this Code section.
JUDICIAL DECISIONS Tort action for damages from injuries received from gang activity. - Trial court did not err in denying the property owners’ motion to dismiss a tenant’s claims seeking damages for injuries the tenant received in a shooting at the tenant’s apartment complex because the Georgia Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act, O.C.G.A. § 16-15-1 et seq., provided a cause of action for treble damages to persons injured by reason of criminal gang activity and the tenant made sufficient allegations in the complaint that the tenant received a violent injury from the type of conduct the Act contemplated. Star Residential, LLC v. Hernandez, 354 Ga. App. 629, 841 S.E.2d 392, 2020 Ga. App. LEXIS 208 (2020), rev’d, 311 Ga. 784, 860 S.E.2d 726, 2021 Ga. LEXIS 482 (2021), vacated in part, 363 Ga. App. 461, 871 S.E.2d 462, 2022 Ga. App. LEXIS 173 (2022).
In a case in which plaintiff was shot and seriously injured by unknown assailants as plaintiff approached the doorway to plaintiff’s apartment, plaintiff could not pursue any form of damages or abatement in connection with a public nuisance created by criminal gang activity under the Georgia Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act, O.C.G.A. § 16-15-1 et seq., because the first two subsections of the Act did not mention the availability of civil damages or abatement by a private individual; and, for purposes of the third subsection, there was no allegation that the apartment complex or its operator committed, attempted to commit, conspired to commit, or solicited, coerced, or intimidated another person to commit any of the criminal gang activity that injured plaintiff. Star Residential v. Hernandez, 311 Ga. 784, 860 S.E.2d 726, 2021 Ga. LEXIS 482 (2021).