Syfert Injury Law Firm

Your Trusted Partner in Personal Injury & Workers' Compensation

Call Now: 904-383-7448

2018 Georgia Code 44-12-130 | Car Wreck Lawyer

Link to State of Georgia Official Statute 2018 Georgia Code Annotated (sourced from legal.resource.org)
O.C.G.A. 44-12-130 Case Law from Google Scholar Amendments to OCGA 44-12-130

TITLE 44 PROPERTY

Section 12. Rights in Personalty, 44-12-1 through 44-12-322.

ARTICLE 3 BAILMENTS

44-12-130. Definitions.

As used in this part, the term:

  1. "Month" means that period of time from one date in a calendar month to the corresponding date in the following calendar month, but if there is no such corresponding date, then the last day of such following month.
  2. "Pawnbroker" means any person engaged in whole or in part in the business of lending money on the security of pledged goods, or in the business of purchasing tangible personal property on the condition that it may be redeemed or repurchased by the seller for a fixed price within a fixed period of time, or in the business of purchasing tangible personal property from persons or sources other than manufacturers or licensed dealers as a part of or in conjunction with the business activities described in this paragraph.
  3. "Pawn transaction" means any loan on the security of pledged goods or any purchase of pledged goods on the condition that the pledged goods may be redeemed or repurchased by the pledgor or seller for a fixed price within a fixed period of time.
  4. "Person" means an individual, partnership, corporation, joint venture, trust, association, or any other legal entity however organized.
  5. "Pledged goods" means tangible personal property, including, without limitation, all types of motor vehicles or any motor vehicle certificate of title, which property is purchased by, deposited with, or otherwise actually delivered into the possession of a pawnbroker in connection with a pawn transaction.However, for purposes of this Code section, possession of any motor vehicle certificate of title which has come into the possession of a pawnbroker through a pawn transaction made in accordance with law shall be conclusively deemed to be possession of the motor vehicle, and the pawnbroker shall retain physical possession of the motor vehicle certificate of title for the entire length of the pawn transaction but shall not be required in any way to retain physical possession of the motor vehicle at any time. "Pledged goods" shall not include choses in action, securities, or printed evidences of indebtedness.

(Ga. L. 1977, p. 1194, § 1; Ga. L. 1989, p. 819, § 1; Ga. L. 1992, p. 3245, §§ 1, 2.)

Law reviews.

- For annual survey of local government law, see 57 Mercer L. Rev. 289 (2005). For note on 1992 amendment of this Code section, see 9 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 323 (1992).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Construction with §§ 44-12-131 and 44-12-137. - In resolving a statutory conflict between O.C.G.A. §§ 44-12-130(1) and44-12-137(a)(7) with respect to the one-month duration for a pawn transaction and O.C.G.A. § 44-12-131(a)(1) which required a duration of 30 days, it was determined that the criminal penalty in § 44-12-137(a)(7) was inapplicable to a customer's pawn transaction that satisfied the 30-day requirement of § 44-12-131(a)(1); the customer's action against the pawnbroker based on an illegal duration accordingly failed. Marshall v. Speedee Cash, 292 Ga. App. 790, 665 S.E.2d 888 (2008).

Pawnbroker's right to self-help.

- Although O.C.G.A. §§ 44-12-130(5) and44-12-131(a)(3) grant the pawnbroker the right to self-help repossession upon default without the necessity of filing a lien, this remedy is intended to apply to the defaulting pledgor, not a bona fide purchaser for value with no notice of the pawnbroker's claim. Cobb Ctr. Pawn & Jewelry Brokers, Inc. v. Gordon, 242 Ga. App. 73, 529 S.E.2d 138 (2000).

County ordinance not in conflict.

- Since the stated purpose of Gwinnett County, Ga., Ord. No. 82-11 was to impede the sale of stolen property, and its requirements were designed to achieve that end, it was a proper use of the county's police power, and was not in conflict with O.C.G.A. § 44-12-130 et seq. Pawnmart, Inc. v. Gwinnett County, 279 Ga. 19, 608 S.E.2d 639 (2005).

Cited in Bell v. Instant Car Title Loans (In re Bell), 279 Bankr. 890 (Bankr. N.D. Ga. 2002); In re Chastagner, 498 Bankr. 376 (Bankr. S.D. Ga. 2013).

RESEARCH REFERENCES

Am. Jur. 2d.

- 54 Am. Jur. 2d, Moneylenders and Pawnbrokers, §§ 6, 7.

C.J.S.

- 70 C.J.S., Pawnbrokers, § 2.

ALR.

- Validity of statutes, ordinances, and regulations governing pawn shops, 16 A.L.R.6th 219.

Cases Citing O.C.G.A. § 44-12-130

Total Results: 2  |  Sort by: Relevance  |  Newest First

Copy

Glinton v. & R, INC., 524 S.E.2d 481 (Ga. 1999).

Cited 30 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Dec 2, 1999 | 271 Ga. 864, 99 Fulton County D. Rep. 4301

...Plaintiffs appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, which certified the following questions: A. Can the statutory scheme regulating pawnbrokers, be read harmoniously with the criminal usury statute, OCGA § 7-4-18, so that both apply to "pawn transactions" as defined in OCGA § 44-12-130(3), or are such transactions meant to be governed exclusively by OCGA § 44-12-130, 131? B. Is the permissible rate of interest and fees charged in "pawn transactions" as defined in OCGA § 44-12-130(3) governed solely by OCGA § 44-12-131, or does the criminal usury statute, OCGA § 7-4-18, apply to modify allowable charges so that the interest charged in these transactions violates Georgia law? Before we examine the pawnshop statut...
...Questions answered. All the Justices concur, except BENHAM, C.J., dissenting, and HUNSTEIN, J., not participating. BENHAM, Chief Justice, dissenting. I respectfully disagree with the majority's conclusion that OCGA § 7-4-18, the criminal usury statute, and OCGA § 44-12-130 et seq., the pawnbroker statute, are in irreconcilable conflict such that the former cannot apply to pawn transactions....
...t. [3] That straightforward reading of the two statutes together accomplishes the intent of the legislature in enacting both statutes. It is reasonable to conclude that the statutes may be read harmoniously after studying the current version of OCGA § 44-12-130 et seq. and its pre-1992 precursor. The 1989 version of § 44-12-130 et seq....
...meaning and effect of statutes will be determined in connection with the common law, the Constitution, other statutes, and the decisions of the courts. Buice v. Dixon, 223 Ga. 645, 647, 157 S.E.2d 481 (1967). At the time the legislature amended OCGA § 44-12-130 et seq....
...in 1992, the criminal usury statute was in effect, making it a misdemeanor for any entity loaning or advancing funds to charge a rate of interest greater than five percent per month. OCGA § 7-4-18(a). A "pawnbroker," statutorily defined in the 1989 and 1992 versions of OCGA § 44-12-130 as "any person engaged in whole or in part in the business of lending money on the security of pledged goods ...," and a "pawn transaction," statutorily defined in both versions as "any loan on the security of pledged goods ...," fall by definition clearly within the criminal usury statute's coverage....
...ent per month: "regularly licensed pawnbrokers" are permitted to charge a minimal storage fee "in addition to said rate of interest...." See also Fryer v. Easy Money Title Pawn, 183 B.R. 322, 325 (Bkrtcy.S.D.Ga.1995). When the 1992 amendment to OCGA § 44-12-130 et seq. is viewed in the context of the criminal usury law and the definitional aspects of the pawnbroker statute then existing, it is clear that the removal from OCGA § 44-12-130 et seq....
Copy

Pawnmart, Inc. v. Gwinnett Cnty., 608 S.E.2d 639 (Ga. 2005).

Cited 13 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Feb 7, 2005 | 279 Ga. 19, 2005 Fulton County D. Rep. 344

...al laws. [2] The first part provides the rule that general laws preempt local or special laws on the same subject; the second part excepts from this rule local laws permitted by, and not conflicting with, the general law. In the present case, OCGA §§ 44-12-130 through 138 are general laws regulating Georgia pawnbrokers....
...ntly amended in 1933. It is well-settled in Georgia that "the rule for construing statutes which may be in conflict is that the most recent legislative expression prevails." [5] Thus, OCGA § 44-12-135 prevails. *642 3. Having determined that OCGA §§ 44-12-130 through 138 authorize counties to regulate pawnbrokers, we next ask whether the Ordinance conflicts with these statutes....