Knowing the requirements and limitations of Georgia magistrate courts is important to understanding when litigating in multiple courts - i.e., claims and counterclaims being severed and partially transferred to state court - is a potential outcome. Hiring an attorney who knows the nuances of the interplay between Georgia's magistrate courts and state courts will allow the landlord to effectively litigate its dispossessory action.
Background
Georgia's magistrate courts are courts of limited jurisdiction. Even though the jurisdictional limitations are enumerated in O.C.G.A. ' 15-10-2, questions have nonetheless arisen regarding statutory interpretation, particularly with respect to dispossessory actions that also involve claims and/or counterclaims seeking monetary damages in excess of the magistrate courts' jurisdictional limits. Pursuant to O.C.G.A. ' 15-10-2(5), a claimant in magistrate court may not seek damages in a civil suit in excess of $15,000. That being said, O.C.G.A. ' 15-10-2(6) provides magistrate courts an independent basis to exercise jurisdiction over the issuance of writs and judgments in dispossessory proceedings. This begs the question as to whether the $15,000 jurisdictional cap set forth in O.C.G.A. ' 15-10-2(5) serves as a limitation on the amount of rent and other damages that a landlord may seek in a dispossessory action filed in magistrate court under O.C.G.A. ' 15-10-2(6).
The Georgia...
