O.C.G.A.
O.C.G.A.

O.C.G.A. § 36-92-4 (2019)

Regulation of settlement of actions against local government entities; exclusion of punitive and exemplary damages; rules of disclosure of documents; recovery against local governments; jurisdiction

✓ O.C.G.A. — 2019 edition (Public.Resource.Org Release 73)
Code text and O.C.G.A. statutory annotations on this page reflect the 2019 Official Code of Georgia Annotated (Public.Resource.Org Release 73, 2019-08-21; public domain per Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). The Syfert case-law annotations in Notes of Decisions, below, are current.
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(a) Local government entities may provide for the payment of claims, settlements and judgments, and their associated costs through any method including, but not limited to, self-insurance, use of a fund within the local government’s budget for the payment of claims, the purchase of liability insurance, participation in an interlocal risk management agency organized pursuant to Chapter 85 of Title 36, or a combination thereof.

(b) No award for damages under this chapter shall include punitive or exemplary damages.

(c) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, any document or information which pertains to the requesting or giving of legal advice or the disclosure of reports or evaluations of persons, including adjusters, assigned to evaluate and adjust claims concerning or pertaining to pending or potential litigation, settlement, claims, administrative proceedings, or other judicial actions brought or to be brought by or against a local government entity under this chapter shall be considered privileged and confidential and shall not be subject to disclosure until final disposition of a claim. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, upon filing a lawsuit pursuant to this chapter, Chapter 11 of Title 9 and any other law applicable to cases in litigation shall apply.

(d) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to authorize an execution or levy against any local government entity’s property or funds. Execution or levy against a local government entity’s property or funds is expressly prohibited. However, nothing in this Code section shall bar the pursuit of any other remedies that exist to enforce a judgment under state law.

(e) Where policies of insurance or contracts of indemnity have not been purchased or entered into by a local government entity for the purposes of paying claims and judgments under this chapter, the fiscal year aggregate liability of any local government entity under this chapter shall not exceed any self-insurance or other reserve or fund established to pay claims arising out of this chapter. Where policies of insurance or contracts of indemnity have been purchased or entered into and the local government entity also self-insures or establishes another reserve or fund to pay claims arising out of this chapter, the fiscal year aggregate liability of any local government entity under this chapter shall not exceed such entity’s policies of insurance or contracts of indemnity and the amount of any self-insurance or other reserve or fund established to pay claims arising out of this chapter. Any judgment obtained in excess of this limitation on annual aggregate liability shall not be void. Such excess judgments shall be paid by the local government entity no later than six months from the end of the local government entity’s fiscal year in which the final judgment was entered. If there are multiple judgments, the judgments shall be paid in the order in which each final judgment was entered by the court following any appeals.

(f ) The existence or amount of the waiver of immunity specified in Code Section 36-92-2 shall not be disclosed or suggested to the jury.

(g) As a condition of the waiver of sovereign immunity authorized by this chapter, all tort actions filed against a local government entity under this chapter, including any action filed against a local government entity as a joint tort-feasor, shall be brought in the state or superior court of the county wherein the local government entity resides.

History

Code 1981, § 36-92-4, enacted by Ga. L. 2002, p. 579, § 3; Ga. L. 2012, p. 775, § 36/HB 942.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 7 cases (4 in the last 5 years), 2003–2025 · leading case: Smith v. Chatham Cnty., 591 S.E.2d 388 (Ga. Ct. App. 2003).
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Smith v. Chatham Cnty., 591 S.E.2d 388 (Ga. Ct. App. 2003). · cites it 2× “11 We note that in 2002 the General Assembly passed an amendment to OCGA § 33-24-51 (b) to provide that counties waive sovereign immunity for the negligent use of a motor vehicle under OCGA § 36-92-2, effective January 1, 2005, and to authorize counties to pay for claims,…”
Gwinnett Cnty. v. Sargent, 738 S.E.2d 716 (Ga. Ct. App. 2013). · cites it 6× “They contend that OCGA § 36-92-2 (a) and (d) must be considered in pari materia with OCGA § 36-92-4 (a) and (e) . OCGA § 36-92-4 (a) provides: Local government entities may provide for the payment of claims, settlements and judgments, and their associated costs through any…”
Montgomery Cnty. v. Laura Alisa Rountree (Ga. Ct. App. 2024). · cites it 8× “The appellant, Montgomery County, moved to dismiss the complaint on the ground that under OCGA § 36-92-4 (g), the appellees had to bring their lawsuit in Montgomery County instead of Toombs County as a condition of Montgomery County’s waiver of sovereign immunity.”
Thomas v. Hines (N.D. Ga. 2024). · cites it 4× “One provision, § 36-92-4(a), authorizes municipalities to pay “claims, settlements and judgments, and their associated costs through any method,” including both “self-insurance” and “the purchase of liability insurance.”
Gwinnett Cnty. v. Faustina Sargent (Ga. Ct. App. 2013). · cites it 4× “OCGA § 36-92-4 (a) provides: Local government entities may provide for the payment of claims, settlements and judgments, and their associated costs through any method including, but not limited to, self-insurance, use of a fund within the local government’s budget for the…”
Miles v. City of Hazlehurst, Georgia (S.D. Ga. 2022). · cites it 2× “19 at 18-19 (quoting O.C.G.A. § 36-92-4(g)); see also Case No.”
Montgomery Cnty. v. Laura Alisa Rountree (Ga. Ct. App. 2025). · cites it 2× “1 1 We transferred the appeal to our Supreme Court on the ground that jurisdiction may lie there “[b]ecause the trial court held, in essence, that Montgomery County’s reading of OCGA § 36-92-4 (g)[, which concerns a venue-related condition for waiving sovereign immunity,] would…”
— 36-92-4(a) — 1 case
Thomas v. Hines (N.D. Ga. 2024). “One provision, § 36-92-4(a), authorizes municipalities to pay “claims, settlements and judgments, and their associated costs through any method,” including both “self-insurance” and “the purchase of liability insurance.”
— 36-92-4(e) — 1 case
Thomas v. Hines (N.D. Ga. 2024). “One provision, § 36-92-4(a), authorizes municipalities to pay “claims, settlements and judgments, and their associated costs through any method,” including both “self-insurance” and “the purchase of liability insurance.”
— 36-92-4(g) — 1 case
Miles v. City of Hazlehurst, Georgia (S.D. Ga. 2022). “19 at 18-19 (quoting O.C.G.A. § 36-92-4(g)); see also Case No.”
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