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2018 Georgia Code 16-17-4 | Car Wreck Lawyer

Link to State of Georgia Official Statute 2018 Georgia Code Annotated (sourced from legal.resource.org)
O.C.G.A. 16-17-4 Case Law from Google Scholar Amendments to OCGA 16-17-4

TITLE 16 CRIMES AND OFFENSES

Section 17. Payday Lending, 16-17-1 through 16-17-10.

ARTICLE 5 SANCTIONS AGAINST LICENSED PERSONS FOR OFFENSES INVOLVING CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES OR MARIJUANA

16-17-4. Liability for civil penalty to state; distribution of proceeds.

  1. Any person who violates subsection (a) or (b) of Code Section 16-17-2 shall be liable to the state for a civil penalty equal to three times the amount of any interest or charges to the borrowers in the unlawful transactions.
  2. A civil action under Code Section 16-17-2 may be brought by the Attorney General, any district attorney, or a private party. Where a successful civil action is brought by a district attorney, one-half of the damages recovered on behalf of the state shall be distributed to the office of the district attorney of the judicial circuit of such district attorney to be used by the district attorney in order to fund the budget of that office.

(Code 1981, §16-17-4, enacted by Ga. L. 2004, p. 60, § 3; Ga. L. 2005, p. 60, § 16/HB 95.)

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Construction.

- Georgia Supreme Court concludes that the Payday Lending Act, O.C.G.A. § 16-17-1(d), including the statement that payday lending does not encompass loans that involve interstate commerce, is merely a legislative finding of fact to which the Court is not bound; to exempt loans that involve interstate commerce from the prohibitions of the Act would create such a contradiction and absurdity as to demonstrate that the Georgia legislature did not mean it to create such a limitation. W. Sky Fin., LLC v. State of Ga. ex rel. Olens, 300 Ga. 340, 793 S.E.2d 357 (2016).

Limitations period.

- Supreme Court of Georgia is not persuaded that the Georgia legislature intended the period of limitation for bringing an enforcement action pursuant to the Payday Lending Act, O.C.G.A. § 16-17-1 et seq., to be governed by the one-year limitation period for forfeiture actions pursuant to the usury laws; instead, the Court concludes the remedies set forth in the Payday Lending Act are governed by the 20-year statute of limitation set forth in O.C.G.A. § 9-3-1. W. Sky Fin., LLC v. State of Ga. ex rel. Olens, 300 Ga. 340, 793 S.E.2d 357 (2016).

Injunctive relief upheld.

- Trial court did not manifestly abuse the court's discretion in granting the state a modified injunction in a suit against payday lenders because the state presented sufficient evidence to demonstrate the state was entitled to injunctive relief, namely, that the state would prevail at trial since a substantial judgment was issued against a lender, the lenders failed to produce financial information during discovery, and serious concerns as to the lenders insolvency existed. W. Sky Fin., LLC v. State of Ga. ex rel. Olens, 300 Ga. 340, 793 S.E.2d 357 (2016).

Cases Citing O.C.G.A. § 16-17-4

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W. Sky Fin., LLC v. State, 300 Ga. 340 (Ga. 2016).

Cited 17 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Oct 31, 2016 | 793 S.E.2d 357

BENHAM, Justice. These cases involve the scope of the State’s authority to regulate so-called “payday loans” pursuant to OCGA § 16-17-1 et seq., which has come to be known as the Payday Lending Act. Pursuant to OCGA § 16-17-4 (b), the State of Georgia, acting through the Attorney General (“State”) filed a complaint in Fulton County Superior Court alleging that CashCall, Inc....
...(Emphasis supplied.) OCGA § 16-17-3 also establishes that any offending lender shall be “liable to the borrower in each unlawful transaction for three times the amount of any interest or other charges to the borrower.” Pursuant to subsection (a) of OCGA § 16-17-4, any person who violates OCGA § 16-17-2 (a) or (b) shall be liable to the State for a civil penalty equal to three times the amount of any interest or charges to the borrowers in such transactions. We do not interpret sections 3 and 4 of the Act as creating separate remedial schemes whereby the right to seek an order barring collections of illegal loans is available only in actions pursued by borrowers. Indeed, OCGA § 16-17-4 (b) authorizes the filing of a civil action pursuant to OCGA § 16-17-2 by either the Attorney General, any district attorney, or a private party Defendants point to no reason why the remedy of a judgment barring collection of any indebted...
... OCGA § 16-17-3. Such a lender is liable to the borrower for three times the amount of any interest or other charges imposed by the transaction (OCGA § 16-17-3) and is liable to the state for a civil penalty equal to three times that amount (OCGA§ 16-17-4)....
...medies available to borrowers under OCGA § 7-4-10 are not available to the State. Either a borrower or the State, as a representative of borrowers or an ascertainable class of borrowers, may pursue the remedies available under OCGA §§ 16-17-3 and 16-17-4, however....
...ble class of borrowers.” OCGA§ 16-17-3. The Code section permitting the State to recover a civil penalty in an action filed under OCGA § 16-17-2 permits the Attorney General, any district attorney, or a private party to pursue those rights. OCGA § 16-17-4.29 *363Decided October 31, 2016 Reconsideration denied December 8, 2016. Parker Hudson Ranier & Dobbs, R....
...Olens, meaning as a relator (see Black’s Law Dictionary, 10th ed. (2014)). Although, strictly speaking, this case was brought on behalf of the State by the Attorney General as relator, the *363relator here is not acting as a disinterested “informer.” OCGA § 16-17-4 expressly authorizes the Attorney General to pursue a penalty for violation of the Payday Lending Act. Finally, we reject Defendants’ assertion that the State is barred by the doctrine of invited error from asserting the trial court erred in denying the motion to add parties....