2023 CODE OF GEORGIA › Title 5 - APPEAL AND ERROR (§§ 5-1-1 — 5-7-6) › Chapter 3 - SUPERIOR AND STATE COURT APPELLATE PRACTICE (§§ 5-3-1 — 5-3-21) › Section 5-3-17 - Supersedeas bonds; requirements; forfeiture

(a)
Except to the extent prohibited by law, the filing of a petition for review under this chapter shall act as supersedeas and shall suspend but not vacate a final judgment of a lower judicatory.
(b)
Except as provided in subsection (c) of this Code section, a supersedeas bond need not be given by a petitioner under this chapter.
(c)
(1)
Except as provided in subsection (d) of Code Section
5-3-16
or otherwise prohibited by law, the reviewing court may require that a supersedeas bond be given with good security while a petition for review is under review.
(2)
In criminal cases where a bond is required pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection, the lower judicatory shall order that the petitioner be released from custody upon the giving of a bond by the petitioner.
(d)
If a petitioner fails to give a bond when a bond is required, the supersedeas provided for in subsection (a) of this Code section shall cease unless the petitioner files with the reviewing court an affidavit stating that because of indigence the petitioner is unable to give a bond.
(e)
A bond set pursuant to this chapter shall not exceed the total amount of damages, fines, fees, penalties, and surcharges imposed by the lower judicatory in the case under review.
(f)
Bonds given pursuant to this chapter are subject to the following requirements:
(1)
If a person has been convicted of any criminal or quasi-criminal offense or a violation of any ordinance, bond shall be payable to the state unless such conviction is in a municipal court, in which case it shall be payable to the municipality under which such court exists. This paragraph shall not apply to constitutional city courts or state courts;
(2)
In civil cases, the petitioner shall make a bond payable to the respondent;
(3)
The petitioner must agree under oath to personally appear and abide by the final judgment, decision, order, or sentence in the case;
(4)
If a secured bond is required, the person providing security shall swear under oath that he or she can fulfill the bond obligation; and
(5)
The giving of a bond shall be consistent with the Constitution of the United States and the laws and the Constitution of this state, including, but not limited to, Code Section
17-6-1
.
(g)
A bond may be forfeited in the same manner as any other bond in any court having jurisdiction, except that a bond payable to a municipality may be forfeited as prescribed in a municipal ordinance of such municipality.
(h)
A supersedeas provided for in this Code section shall suspend the final judgment of the lower judicatory until the petition for review is decided or dismissed by the reviewing court or by an appellate court upon appeal, provided that the petitioner applies for and procures the necessary writs for reviewing the decision complained of within the time prescribed.
(i)
If a petition for review is filed by a petitioner's attorney, the petitioner's attorney shall be authorized to sign the name of the petitioner to the supersedeas bond. In such cases, the petitioner shall be bound by the supersedeas bond as though the petitioner had personally signed it.
(j)
An action may be brought on the bond given under this chapter in any court having jurisdiction.
(k)
A valid bond may replace or be amended to replace a void bond or no bond at all at any time under this Code section.
(l)
A petitioner's surety, if any, shall be bound by the judgment in a petition for review. A surety compelled to pay off a debt or damages for which judgment is entered under this chapter shall only have recourse against the surety's principal.
(m)
When several partners or joint contractors bring or defend a claim, any one of the partners or joint contractors may file a petition for review in the name of the firm or joint contractors and sign the name of the firm or joint contractors to a bond if a bond is required by the reviewing court. Such petition for review and bond shall be binding on the firm and the joint contractors as though they had signed it themselves.
Added by 2022 Ga. Laws 875,§ 1-1, eff. 7/1/2023, app. to petitions for review filed in superior or state court on or after such date.