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KFG30 1981 .A24 Georgia Official code of Georg ia annotated 2017 v.39 c. 4 MERCER UNIVERSITY Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2019 with funding from Public.Resource.Org https://archive.org/details/officialcodeofge39stat OFFICIAL CODE OF GEORGIA ANNOTATED With Provision for Subsequent Pocket Parts Prepared by The Code Revision Commission The Office of Legislative Counsel and The Editorial Staff of LexisNexis® Published Under Authority of the State of Georgia Volume 39 2017 Edition Title 51. Torts Including Acts of the 2017 Session of the General Assembly of Georgia and Annotations taken from the Georgia Reports and the Georgia Appeals Reports LexisNexis® Charlottesville, Virginia 2017 MERCER Ui\iiV£BSi' AUG 0 2 2017 Gswroxa, K'rG30 | A%\ , Aaw son v.39 cA Copyright 2000, 2017 BY State of Georgia All rights reserved. ISBN 978-1-5221-2568-6 4196612 £ ft ,H (Pub.41805) OFFICE OF SECRETARY OF STATE I, Brian P. Kemp, Secretary of State of the State of Georgia, do hereby certify that the statutory portion of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated contained in this volume is a true and correct copy of such material as enacted by the General Assembly of Georgia; all as the same appear on file and record in this office. ..._____ IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of my office, at the Capitol, in the City of Atlanta, this 7th day of July, in the year of our Lord Two Thousand and Seventeen and of the Independence of the United States of America the Two Hundred and Forty-First. % lP.lv- Brian P. Kemp, Secretary of State . Preface This volume cumulates and replaces the 2000 edition of Volume 39 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, as supplemented by the 2016 Cumulative Supplement. The 2000 Volume 39 and its 2016 supplement may be recycled or, if so desired, retained for historical purposes. This volume contains all laws specifically codified in Title 51 by the General Assembly through the 2017 Session. This volume also contains case annotations reflecting decisions posted to LexisNexis® through May 17, 2017. These annotations will appear in the following tradi¬ tional reporter sources: Georgia Supreme Court Opinions; Georgia Appeals Court Opinions; Southeastern Reporter, Second Series; Su¬ preme Court Reporter; Federal Reporter, Third Series; Federal Supple¬ ment, Second Series; Federal Rules Decisions; and Bankruptcy Re¬ porter. As official and traditional citations become available, substitutions for the LexisNexis® citations will be made. Additionally, LexisNexis® has prepared annotations and references to Attorney General Opinions, law reviews, and other research sources that we hope will be beneficial as you utilize this product. A complete listing of those sources is as follows: Official and Unofficial Attorney General Opinions; Opinions of the Judicial Qualifications Commission; Advisory Opinions of the State Disciplinary Board of the State Bar; Formal Advisory Opinions of the State Disciplinary Board of the State Bar, issued by the Supreme Court of Georgia; Emory Law Journal; Georgia Law Review; Georgia State University Law Review; Mercer Law Review; Georgia State Bar Journal; American Law Reports; American Jurisprudence 2d; American Jurisprudence Pleading and Practice Forms, American Jurisprudence Proof of Facts; American Jurisprudence Trials; Corpus Juris Secundum; and Uniform Laws Annotated. Also included, where appropriate, are cross references to the Official Code of Georgia Annotated. This volume retains amendment notes and effective date notes for Acts passed during the 2015, 2016, and 2017 Sessions of the General Assembly. In order to determine the changes which were made or the effective date applied to a Code section by an Act passed prior to the 2015 Session of the General Assembly, the user should consult the Georgia Laws. Visit our website at http://www.lexisnexis.com for an online book¬ store, technical support, customer service, and other company informa¬ tion. If you have questions or suggestions concerning the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, please call toll free 1-800-833-9844, fax at v 1-518-487-3584, or email us at [email protected]. Di¬ rect written inquiries to: LexisNexis® Attn: Official Code of Georgia Annotated 701 East Water Street Charlottesville, Virginia 22902-5389 vi