Georgia has four trial courts
created by the Georgia Constitution of 1983 that may try purely civil claims:
Superior Court, State Court, Magistrate Court, and Municipal Court. These
Courts are the workhorses of Georgia’s trial court system.
The Magistrate Court is
Georgia’s small claims court. It has a jurisdictional limit of
$15,000.00. So, a Magistrate Court may not hear a civil claim that
exceeds that amount. (Although the Magistrate Court has exclusive
jurisdiction over landlord-tenant dispossessory proceedings).
One of the benefits of filing
a claim in Magistrate Court is that the Court engages in summary proceedings,
meaning that the Court simply has a hearing and makes a decision.
There are no jury trials in
Magistrate Court. The judge hears the case and renders a verdict on the
case. There is no civil discovery in Magistrate Court, although the Court
does possess the subpoena power.
Magistrate Court is an
excellent Court for small claims that may not warrant the time and expense
associated with full blown litigation. Litigation takes substantial time
to bring the case to resolution due to the civil discovery process and motion
practice.
If you are agreeable to the
jurisdictional limit and foregoing the right to a jury trial in exchange for a
relatively quick resolution of your case, the Magistrate Court may be for you.
