GA Code § 11-9-501 (2021)
2021 Georgia Code|Title 11 - Commercial Code|Article 9 - Secured Transactions|Part 5 - Filing|§ 11-9-501. Filing Office

  Filing offices. Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) of this Code section, if the law of this state governs perfection of a security interest or agricultural lien, the office in which to file a financing statement to perfect the security interest or agricultural lien is:   The office designated for the filing or recording of a record of a mortgage on the related real property, if:   The collateral is as-extracted collateral, growing crops, or timber to be cut; or   The financing statement is filed as a fixture filing and the collateral is goods that are or are to become fixtures; or     The office of the clerk of the superior court of any county of this state, in all other cases, including a case in which the collateral is goods that are or are to become fixtures and the financing statement is not filed as a fixture filing.     Filing office for transmitting utilities. The office in which to file a financing statement to perfect a security interest in collateral, including fixtures, of a transmitting utility is the office of the clerk of the superior court of any county of this state. The financing statement also constitutes a fixture filing as to the collateral indicated in the financing statement which is or is to become fixtures.     (Code 1981, §11-9-501, enacted by Ga. L. 2001, p. 362, § 1; Ga. L. 2002, p. 995, § 6.)    The 2002 amendment,  effective July 1, 2002, inserted "growing" in the middle of subparagraph (a)(1)(A).   Editor's notes.   - Ga. L. 2002, p. 995, § 8, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: "This Act shall become effective July 1, 2002, and shall apply to a letter of credit that is issued on or after July 1, 2002. This Act does not apply to a transaction, event, obligation, or duty arising out of or associated with a letter of credit that was issued before July 1, 2002."   Law reviews.   - For article, "Real Property and the Federal Tax Lien Act of 1966," see 3 Ga. St. B.J. 459 (1967). For article, "The Revisions to Article IX of the Uniform Commercial Code," see 15 Ga. St. B.J. 120 (1977). For article surveying developments in Georgia commercial law from mid-1980 through mid-1981, see 33 Mercer L. Rev. 33 (1981). For survey article on commercial law, see 34 Mercer L. Rev. 31 (1982). For annual survey article discussing central filing system, see 46 Mercer L. Rev. 95 (1994). For comment on In re Carmichael Enters., Inc., 334 F. Supp. 94 (N.D. Ga. 1971), aff'd per curiam, 460 F.2d 1405 (5th Cir. 1972), holding that the proper place for debtor corporation to file financial statement is the "factual" principal place of business, see 9 Ga. St. B.J. 388 (1973).   JUDICIAL DECISIONS   Editor's notes.   - In the light of the similarity of the provisions, decisions under former Article 9 are included in the annotations for this Code section. For a table of comparable provisions, see the table at the beginning of the Article.    Underlying purpose  of this section was the establishment of purely local filing system. In re Carmichael Enters., Inc., 334 F. Supp. 94 (N.D. Ga. 1971), aff'd, 460 F.2d 1405 (5th Cir. 1972) (decided under former Code Section 11-9-401).   Purpose of former subsection (1)(b).   - Policy of former subsection (1)(b) of this section was to require filing in place or places where creditor would normally look for information concerning interests created by debtor. In re Carmichael Enters., Inc., 334 F. Supp. 94 (N.D. Ga. 1971), aff'd, 460 F.2d 1405 (5th Cir. 1972) (decided under former Code Section 11-9-401).   Compliance.    - Trial court properly granted summary judgment pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 9-11-56 to colt possessors in a tortious interference with a contract claim by a horse trainer, wherein the trainer alleged that the trainer had a contract to keep the recently born colt in exchange for continued services to the mare's owner; the court found that there was no showing that the possessors were aware of a contract regarding the ownership of the colt, the possessors had followed the necessary procedures for filing a financing statement under O.C.G.A. §§ 11-9-501 through11-9-504, they had allegedly foreclosed on their lien on the mare by the time that they became aware of the trainer's claim, pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 44-14-490, and the trainer did not record a lien against the colt pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 44-14-511. Medlin v. Morganstern, 268 Ga. App. 116, 601 S.E.2d 359 (2004).    Apparent intent of words "not an individual"  is to differentiate individual proprietorships from other business entities. Retreading Equip., Inc. v. Murphy, 5 Bankr. 596 (N.D. Ga. 1980) (decided under former Code Section 11-9-401).   Proper place to file financing statement.   - The proper place to file financing statement under former subsection (1)(b) of this section was county of debtor corporation's factual principal place of business. In re Carmichael Enters., Inc., 334 F. Supp. 94 (N.D. Ga. 1971), aff'd, 460 F.2d 1405 (5th Cir. 1972) (decided under former Code Section 11-9-401).   Meaning of "principal place of business".   - Failure of legislature in enacting this section to make specific reference to "principal office" concept indicates it did not intend that "principal office" of corporate charter should be equivalent to "principal place of business." In re Carmichael Enters., Inc., 334 F. Supp. 94 (N.D. Ga. 1971), aff'd, 460 F.2d 1405 (5th Cir. 1972) (decided under former Code Section 11-9-401).   By using term "principal place of business" in this section, legislature intended that proper place for filing of financing statement be the "factual" principal place of business and not "principal office" as designated in corporate charter. In re Carmichael Enters., Inc., 334 F. Supp. 94 (N.D. Ga. 1971), aff'd, 460 F.2d 1405 (5th Cir. 1972) (decided under former Code Section 11-9-401).   Knowledge of contents of financing statement.    - Knowledge of claimed security interest is not equivalent to knowledge of contents of financing statement. United States v. Waterford No. 2 Office Center, 246 Ga. 475, 271 S.E.2d 790 (1980) (decided under former Code Section11-9-401).   Preservation of chattel interest in fixtures.    - This former section and §§ 11-9-402 and11-9-403 (see now §§ 11-9-502 et seq. and11-9-601 et seq.) provide for fixture filing to enable secured party with chattel interest in goods which are or are to become fixtures to preserve that interest. Williams v. Western Pac. Fin. Corp., 643 F.2d 331 (5th Cir. 1981) (decided under former Code Section11-9-401).   Liability of negligent title researcher.    - Failure of law firm's title researcher to find improperly indexed deed to secure debt in personalty docket, or a Uniform Commercial Code financing statement not cross-indexed to realty docket does not make law firm for title insurer a joint tort-feasor with grantor who breaches warranty of title to grantee, as the tort is the breach of warranty and causation for such breach of warranty lies solely at hands of defendants. The law firm's delict, if any, was failure to detect defendants' delict. Pease & Elliman Realty Trust v. Gaines, 160 Ga. App. 125, 286 S.E.2d 448 (1981) (decided under former Code Section11-9-401).   Harvested peanut crops.   - Plaintiffs' filing of their financing statement in the proper county gave defendant legal notice of plaintiffs' security interests and liens in peanut crops defendant purchased, even though the clerk incorrectly recorded the financing statement, and the perfected security interests remained effective even though the crops were harvested. Bartolan, Inc. v. Columbian Peanut Co., 727 F. Supp. 1444 (M.D. Ga. 1989) (decided under former Code Section 11-9-401).    The effective date for the statewide filing and central indexing system for financing statements was January 1, 1995. Trust Co. Bank v. Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Coop. Auth., 265 Ga. 390, 456 S.E.2d 571 (1995) (decided under former Code Section11-9-401).   RESEARCH REFERENCES   Am. Jur. 2d.   - 68A Am. Jur. 2d, Secured Transactions, §§ 304, 323, 378 et seq.   C.J.S.   - 6A C.J.S., Assignments, § 52. 72 C.J.S., Pledges, § 14.   U.L.A.   - Uniform Commercial Code (U.L.A.) § 9-501.   ALR.    - Withdrawal of paper after delivery to proper officer as affecting question whether it is filed, 37 A.L.R. 670.    What amounts to notice which will subject one's rights to an unrecorded conditional sale contract, 159 A.L.R. 669.   Necessity that mortgage covering oil and gas lease be recorded as real-estate mortgage, and/or filed or recorded as chattel mortgage, 34 A.L.R.2d 902.