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2018 Georgia Code 18-5-1 | Car Wreck Lawyer

TITLE 18 DEBTOR AND CREDITOR

Section 5. Debt Adjustment, 18-5-1 through 18-5-5.

ARTICLE 4 GARNISHMENT FORMS

THIRD-PARTY CLAIM Personally appeared ______________________________, who on oathsays

18-5-1. Definitions.

As used in this chapter, the term:

  1. "Debt adjusting" means doing business in debt adjustments, budget counseling, debt management, or debt pooling service or holding oneself out, by words of similar import, as providing services to debtors in the management of their debts and contracting with a debtor for a fee to:
    1. Effect the adjustment, compromise, or discharge of any account, note, or other indebtedness of the debtor; or
    2. Receive from the debtor and disburse to his or her creditors any money or other thing of value.
  2. "Person" means an individual, corporation, partnership, trust, association, or other legal entity.
  3. "Resides" means to live in a particular place, whether on a temporary or permanent basis.

(Ga. L. 1956, p. 797, § 1; Ga. L. 2003, p. 392, § 1; Ga. L. 2015, p. 1088, § 18/SB 148.)

Cross references.

- Operation of credit repair services organization, § 16-9-59.

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Forum selection provision invalid when denying debtor rights.

- Trial court erred in granting a Texas corporation's motion to dismiss a debtors' action alleging that the debt adjustment services a Texas corporation provided them violated Georgia statutes specifically regulating the business of "debt adjusting" as set forth in O.C.G.A. § 18-5-1 et seq. on the ground that the parties' contract contained a provision selecting Texas as the forum for any dispute because, if enforced, the contract's forum selection and choice of law provisions requiring the debtors to bring their action before a Texas court applying Texas law would operate in tandem to deprive the debtors of specific statutory protections set forth in § 18-5-1 et seq., relating to debt adjustment agreements; because that would violate Georgia's public policy established in those provisions, the forum selection and choice of law provisions in the contract were invalid and unenforceable. Moon v. CSA--Credit Solutions of Am., Inc., 304 Ga. App. 555, 696 S.E.2d 486 (2010).

Cited in Penso Holdings, Inc. v. Cleveland, 324 Ga. App. 259, 749 S.E.2d 821 (2013).

RESEARCH REFERENCES

Am. Jur. 2d.

- 15A Am. Jur. 2d, Collection and Credit Agencies, §§ 2, 23.

ALR.

- Validity, construction, and application of state debt adjusting statutes, 90 A.L.R.6th 1.

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