GA Code § 9-2-61 (2021)
2021 Georgia Code|Title 9 - Civil Practice|Chapter 2 - Actions Generally|Article 4 - Dismissal and Renewal|§ 9-2-61. Renewal of Case After Dismissal

  When any case has been commenced in either a state or federal court within the applicable statute of limitations and the plaintiff discontinues or dismisses the same, it may be recommenced in a court of this state or in a federal court either within the original applicable period of limitations or within six months after the discontinuance or dismissal, whichever is later, subject to the requirement of payment of costs in the original action as required by subsection (d) of Code Section 9-11-41; provided, however, if the dismissal or discontinuance occurs after the expiration of the applicable period of limitation, this privilege of renewal shall be exercised only once.   This Code section shall not apply to contracts for the sale of goods covered by Article 2 of Title 11.   The provisions of subsection (a) of this Code section granting a privilege of renewal shall apply if an action is discontinued or dismissed without prejudice for lack of subject matter jurisdiction in either a court of this state or a federal court in this state.    (Laws 1847, Cobb's 1851 Digest, p. 569; Ga. L. 1855-56, p. 233, § 33; Code 1863, § 2873; Code 1868, § 2881; Code 1873, § 2932; Code 1882, § 2932; Civil Code 1895, § 3786; Civil Code 1910, § 4381; Code 1933, § 3-808; Ga. L. 1962, p. 156, § 1; Ga. L. 1967, p. 226, § 39; Ga. L. 1985, p. 1446, § 1; Ga. L. 1989, p. 419, § 1; Ga. L. 1990, p. 876, § 1; Ga. L. 1998, p. 862, § 1.)   Cross references.   - Dismissal of actions and recommencement within six months, § 9-11-41.   Editor's notes.   - Ga. L. 1998, p. 862, § 4, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that the 1998 amendment was applicable to cases pending on April 10, 1998, or cases dismissed or discontinued after April 10, 1998.   Law reviews.   - For article, "The 1967 Amendments to the Georgia Civil Practice Act and the Appellate Procedure Act," see 3 Ga. St. B.J. 383 (1967). For article surveying judicial developments in Georgia's trial practice and procedure laws, see 31 Mercer L. Rev. 249 (1979). For review of 1998 legislation relating to civil practice, see 15 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 1 (1998). For annual survey article discussing trial practice and procedure, see 51 Mercer L. Rev. 487 (1999). For survey article on trial practice and procedure for the period from June 1, 2002 to May 31, 2003, see 55 Mercer L. Rev. 439 (2003). For annual survey of appellate practice and procedure, see 57 Mercer L. Rev. 35 (2005). For annual survey of insurance law, see 58 Mercer L. Rev. 181 (2006). For article, "What is Reasonable Service?," see 12 Ga. St. B.J. 22 (2007). For annual survey on trial practice and procedure, see 61 Mercer L. Rev. 363 (2009). For annual survey on trial practice and procedure, see 64 Mercer L. Rev. 305 (2012). For survey article on local government law, see 67 Mercer L. Rev. 147 (2015). For annual survey on trial practice and procedure, see 67 Mercer L. Rev. 257 (2015). For annual survey on zoning and land use law, see 69 Mercer L. Rev. 371 (2017).   JUDICIAL DECISIONS   ANALYSIS    General Consideration   Procedural Consideration   Timing   Application   Prior Acts Discharged Under First Offender Status Excluded    RESEARCH REFERENCES   Am. Jur. 2d.   - 24 Am. Jur. 2d, Dismissal, Discontinuance, and Nonsuit, § 97 et seq. 51 Am. Jur. 2d, Limitation of Actions, §§ 290, 296.   ALR.    - Defective pleading as within proviso or saving clause permitted new action after failure of previous action notwithstanding general limitation period has run, 77 A.L.R. 495.    Period within which new action may be commenced after nonsuit or judgment not on merits, 83 A.L.R. 478.    What amounts to a nonsuit within contemplation of statute extending time for new action in case of nonsuit, 86 A.L.R. 1048.    Time for filing petition for removal of action from state to federal court as affected by extension of time for pleading, 108 A.L.R. 966.    Reinstatement, after expiration of term, of case which has been voluntarily withdrawn, dismissed, or nonsuited, 111 A.L.R. 767.    Nolle prosequi or discontinuance of prosecution in one court and instituting new prosecution in another court of coordinate jurisdiction, 117 A.L.R. 423.    Character or kind of action or proceeding within operation of statute which permits new action after expiration of period of limitation, upon failure of previous action commenced within the period, 120 A.L.R. 376; 79 A.L.R.2d 1309.    Statutes permitting new action after failure of original action commenced within period of limitations as applied in cases where original action fails for reasons relating to the writ or process or the service thereof, 142 A.L.R. 1184.    Original notice of lis pendens as effective upon renewal of litigation after dismissal, reversal, or nonsuit, reserving right to begin another proceeding, 164 A.L.R. 515.   Statute permitting new action, after failure of original action timely commenced, as applicable where original action was filed in another state, 55 A.L.R.2d 1038.   Determination of beginning of period allowed by statute for commencement of new action after failure, otherwise than on the merits, or action timely begun, 79 A.L.R.2d 1270.   Voluntary dismissal or nonsuit as within provision of statute extending time for new action in case of dismissal or failure of original action otherwise than upon the merits, 79 A.L.R.2d 1290.   Time when voluntary nonsuit or dismissal may be taken as of right under statute so authorizing at any time before "trial," "commencement of trial," "trial of the facts," or the like, 1 A.L.R.3d 711.   Statute permitting new action after failure of original action commenced within period of limitation, as applicable in cases where original action failed for lack of jurisdiction, 6 A.L.R.3d 1043.   Applicability, as affected by change in parties, of statute permitting commencement of new action within specified time after failure of prior action not on merits, 13 A.L.R.3d 848.   Effect of statute permitting new action to be brought within specified period after failure of original action other than on the merits to limit period of limitations, 13 A.L.R.3d 979.   Attorneys at law: delay in prosecution of disciplinary proceeding as defense or mitigating circumstance, 93 A.L.R.3d 1057.   Application of relation back doctrine permitting change in party after statute of limitations has run in state court action - motor vehicle accident or injury cases: individual drivers, parents, owners or lessors, and passengers, 97 A.L.R.6th 375.   Application of relation-back doctrine permitting change in party after statute of limitations has run in state court action - motor vehicle accident or injury cases: corporations, municipalities, insurers, and employers, 98 A.L.R.6th 93.   Application of relation-back doctrine permitting change in party after statute of limitations has run in state court action - motor vehicle accident or injury cases: estates, and other or unspecified parties, 99 A.L.R.6th 1.   Construction and application of two-dismissal rule under federal law, 10 A.L.R. Fed. 3d 4.