Syfert Injury Law Firm

Your Trusted Partner in Personal Injury & Workers' Compensation

Call Now: 904-383-7448

2018 Georgia Code 50-21-27 | Car Wreck Lawyer

TITLE 50 STATE GOVERNMENT

Section 21. Waiver of Sovereign Immunity as to Actions Ex Contractu; State Tort Claims, 50-21-1 through 50-21-37.

ARTICLE 2 STATE TORT CLAIMS

50-21-27. Retroactive operation; limitations of actions; applicability of other related statutes.

  1. It is the specific intent of the General Assembly that this article shall operate retroactively so as to apply to tort claims or causes of action which accrued on or after January 1, 1991.A tort claim or cause of action shall be deemed to have accrued on the date the loss was or should have been discovered.This article shall not apply to tort claims or causes of action which accrued prior to January 1, 1991.
  2. For tort claims and causes of action which accrued between January 1, 1991, and July 1, 1992, any tort action brought pursuant to this article is forever barred unless it is commenced within two years after July 1, 1992.
  3. For tort claims and causes of action which accrue on or after July 1, 1992, any tort action brought pursuant to this article is forever barred unless it is commenced within two years after the date the loss was or should have been discovered.
  4. Statutes of ultimate repose and abrogation, as provided for elsewhere in this Code, shall apply to claims and actions brought pursuant to this article.
  5. All provisions relating to the tolling of limitations of actions, as provided elsewhere in this Code, shall apply to causes of action brought pursuant to this article.

(Code 1981, §50-21-27, enacted by Ga. L. 1992, p. 1883, § 1.)

Code Commission notes.

- Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 1992, "July 1, 1992" was substituted for "the effective date of this article" in two places in subsection (b) and once in subsection (c).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Expouse for federal civil rights violations.

- Georgia Tort Claims Act, O.C.G.A. § 50-21-20 et seq., does not expand the state's exposure for federal civil rights actions beyond that provided in O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33. Doe #102 v. Department of Cors., 268 Ga. 582, 492 S.E.2d 516 (1997), cert. denied, 523 U.S. 1047, 118 S. Ct. 1363, 140 L. Ed. 2d 512 (1998).

Construction with tolling provision of O.C.G.A.

§ 36-33-5(d). - The tolling provision of O.C.G.A. § 36-33-5(d) cannot be harmonized with the Georgia Tort Claims Act (GTCA), O.C.G.A. § 50-21-20, et seq., and, thus, has no application to suits brought pursuant to the GTCA, notwithstanding the language of O.C.G.A. § 50-21-27(e). Ga. Reg'l Transp. Auth. v. Foster, 329 Ga. App. 258, 764 S.E.2d 862 (2014).

In a suit against a state transit authority, the trial court erred by denying the authority's motion for judgment on the pleadings because the passenger's suit was time-barred since the suit was filed after the running of the two-year statute of limitation applicable to tort claims brought against the state pursuant to the Georgia Tort Claims Act (GTCA), O.C.G.A. § 50-21-20, et seq.; O.C.G.A. § 50-21-27(c) and the tolling provision of O.C.G.A. § 36-33-5(d) could not be harmonized with the GTCA and, thus, had no application. Ga. Reg'l Transp. Auth. v. Foster, 329 Ga. App. 258, 764 S.E.2d 862 (2014).

Tolling of claims against municipal corporations.

- In a tort action brought by a passenger against a regional transportation authority, the reversal of the denial of the authority's motion for judgment on the pleadings was upheld because, by its terms, O.C.G.A. § 36-33-5(d) permitted the tolling of the period of limitation only for claims against municipal corporations and it was not a municipal corporation. Foster v. Ga. Reg'l Transp. Auth., 297 Ga. 714, 777 S.E.2d 446 (2015).

Statute not tolled when plaintiff could not establish lack of fault for delay.

- Statute of limitations was not tolled on the plaintiff's state law claims when the plaintiff's failure to effect proper service in accordance with the Georgia Tort Claims Act for over a year after filing the plaintiff's complaint, knowing of the defendants' attack on the sufficiency of service of process, precluded the plaintiff from establishing lack of fault for the delay. Gibbons v. McBride, 124 F. Supp. 3d 1342 (S.D. Ga. 2015).

Claim filed under the renewal statute.

- Plaintiff's tort action against the Georgia Ports Authority complied with the statute of limitations and ante litem notice statute, O.C.G.A. §§ 50-21-26(a)(4) and50-21-27(c), and the plaintiff's second action was proper under the renewal statute, O.C.G.A. § 9-2-61, but was dismissed for failure to timely attach the ante litem notice. The plaintiff's third action was improper because dismissal of the first action occurred outside the statute of limitations, so only one renewal was authorized. Burroughs v. Georgia Ports Authority, 339 Ga. App. 294, 793 S.E.2d 538 (2016).

Cited in Datz v. Brinson, 208 Ga. App. 455, 430 S.E.2d 823 (1993); Sylvester v. DOT, 252 Ga. App. 31, 555 S.E.2d 740 (2001); Backensto v. Ga. DOT, 284 Ga. App. 41, 643 S.E.2d 302 (2007).

Cases Citing Georgia Code 50-21-27 From Courtlistener.com

Total Results: 5

Foster v. Georgia Regional Transportation Authority

Court: Supreme Court of Georgia | Date Filed: 2015-09-14

Citation: 297 Ga. 714, 777 S.E.2d 446, 2015 Ga. LEXIS 653, 2015 WL 5315718

Snippet: under the Tort Claims Act is two years, see OCGA § 50-21-27 (c), and Foster filed her lawsuit more than two

DOE 102 v. Department of Corrections

Court: Supreme Court of Georgia | Date Filed: 1997-11-03

Citation: 492 S.E.2d 516, 268 Ga. 582, 97 Fulton County D. Rep. 4006, 1997 Ga. LEXIS 718

Snippet: Doe's assertion, this is not changed by OCGA § 50-21-27(b),[3] as its terms do not call for an extension

Department of Human Resources v. Phillips

Court: Supreme Court of Georgia | Date Filed: 1997-07-16

Citation: 486 S.E.2d 851, 268 Ga. 316, 97 Fulton County D. Rep. 2581, 1997 Ga. LEXIS 430

Snippet: compensation in the amount of $3.5 million. OCGA § 50-21-27 (a) barred entry of a judgment in the amount of

Henderson v. Department of Transportation

Court: Supreme Court of Georgia | Date Filed: 1996-09-09

Citation: 475 S.E.2d 614, 267 Ga. 90, 96 Fulton County D. Rep. 3213, 1996 Ga. LEXIS 522

Snippet: claim. [6] Ga. L.1992, p. 1183, § 2. [7] OCGA § 50-21-27(a). [8] That paragraph of our Constitution provides

Curtis v. Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia

Court: Supreme Court of Georgia | Date Filed: 1992-05-21

Citation: 416 S.E.2d 510, 262 Ga. 226, 92 Fulton County D. Rep. 757, 1992 Ga. LEXIS 509

Snippet: which accrued prior to January 1, 1991. OCGA § 50-21-27 (a) (as amended 1992). By making the Georgia Tort