ga-post-judgment

name	ga-post-judgment
description	This skill should be used when navigating post-judgment procedure in a Georgia civil case. Triggers include "set aside a default judgment in Georgia", "open default 15 days", "motion to set aside Georgia", "wage garnishment Georgia", "claim exemption garnishment", "Georgia bank levy", "traverse garnishment", "continuing garnishment Georgia", "Georgia exemptions O.C.G.A. 44-13-100", "judgment dormant", "revive a Georgia judgment", "new trial Georgia", "JNOV Georgia". Covers opening or setting aside default under O.C.G.A. § 9-11-55, motions to set aside under § 9-11-60(d), post-trial motions (new trial § 5-5-40, JNOV § 9-11-50(b), appeal § 5-6-38), the post-2016 garnishment regime (O.C.G.A. §§ 18-4-1 to 18-4-90) and the defendant's claim/traverse, property exemptions under § 44-13-100, and judgment dormancy and revival under §§ 9-12-60 and 9-12-61.
version	0.1.0

Georgia Post-Judgment Procedure

NOT LEGAL ADVICE. This skill addresses procedure once a Georgia judgment has been entered. Verify every step, deadline, and dollar figure against current law before filing or responding. Pair with substantive review by counsel where stakes warrant.

Use this skill in addition to ga-statewide-format when the case is past judgment — whether you are attacking the judgment, defending against collection, or collecting on it.

Two paths after judgment

1. Attack the judgment — open or set aside a default under O.C.G.A. § 9-11-55, set aside under § 9-11-60(d), move for new trial under § 5-5-40, move for JNOV under § 9-11-50(b), or appeal under § 5-6-38.
2. Defend collection or collect — respond to and challenge garnishment under O.C.G.A. §§ 18-4-1 to 18-4-90, assert exemptions under § 44-13-100, and track the dormancy and revival clock under §§ 9-12-60 and 9-12-61.

Attacking the judgment

Opening a default — O.C.G.A. § 9-11-55

When the defendant has not answered, the case goes into default. Georgia gives two distinct windows:

• As a matter of right within 15 days — under § 9-11-55(a), the defendant may open the default as of right at any time within 15 days of the day of default, on payment of costs. No excuse, affidavit, or showing of a defense is required in this window; paying the accrued costs is the price of entry. This is the single most important post-default deadline — calendar it the moment default is suspected.

• After 15 days — only on a showing under § 9-11-55(b) — once the 15-day right has lapsed, the court may open the default only on one of three statutory grounds:

  1. providential cause preventing the answer,
  2. excusable neglect, or
  3. a "proper case."

  And the movant must satisfy four mandatory conditions: (a) the showing must be made under oath; (b) the movant must offer to plead instanter; (c) the movant must announce ready to proceed with trial; and (d) the movant must set up a meritorious defense. Missing any one of the four defeats the motion regardless of the ground asserted.

• The "proper case" prong — the Georgia Supreme Court in Bowen v. Savoy, 308 Ga. 204 (2020), addressed the "proper case" ground, holding that it is the broadest of the three and does not require the movant to furnish a reasonable explanation for the failure to answer. The "proper case" analysis looks to whether opening the default serves the ends of justice on the whole record. (Verify the pincite and current treatment before relying on it.)

Motion to set aside — O.C.G.A. § 9-11-60(d)

A judgment that is not a mere default — or a default attacked after the § 9-11-55 windows close — is reached under § 9-11-60(d). Grounds include:

• a non-amendable defect appearing on the face of the record or pleadings (§ 9-11-60(d)(3));
• lack of jurisdiction over the person or the subject matter (§ 9-11-60(d)(1)); and
• fraud, accident, or mistake, or the acts of the adverse party unmixed with the movant's own negligence (§ 9-11-60(d)(2)).

Timing: under § 9-11-60(f), a motion to set aside generally must be brought within three years of entry of the judgment complained of. There is no time limit for a void judgment — a judgment void for lack of personal or subject-matter jurisdiction may be attacked at any time. Lack of service (a frequent issue in consumer debt-buyer default cases) is the classic void-judgment basis. See ga-consumer-debt for the default-judgment attack template.

Post-trial motions and appeal

• Motion for new trial — O.C.G.A. § 5-5-40: file within 30 days of entry of the judgment. Grounds are stated in O.C.G.A. Title 5, Chapter 5 (verdict contrary to evidence, error of law, newly discovered evidence, etc.).
• Motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV) — O.C.G.A. § 9-11-50(b): file within 30 days of entry of judgment, predicated on a prior motion for directed verdict.
• Notice of appeal — O.C.G.A. § 5-6-38: file within 30 days of entry of the judgment, or within 30 days of the order disposing of a timely motion for new trial or JNOV. Track whether the appeal is a direct appeal or requires an application (discretionary or interlocutory).

Defending collection — garnishment

Georgia's garnishment chapter was rewritten in 2016 following Strickland v. Alexander, N.D. Ga. (2015), which held the prior scheme unconstitutional for inadequate notice and exemption procedures. The old section numbers are gone; the current chapter spans O.C.G.A. §§ 18-4-1 to 18-4-90. Always work from the current chapter — older forms and citations are unreliable.

Process and garnishee answer — O.C.G.A. § 18-4-4

The garnishment summons is served on the garnishee (employer or bank). For a bank/financial-institution garnishee, the garnishee's answer is due in the window set by § 18-4-4 — generally not sooner than 5 nor later than 15 days after service. The answer reports what funds or property the garnishee holds. (Verify the exact day-count against current § 18-4-4.)

Wage limit — O.C.G.A. § 18-4-5

Earnings subject to garnishment are capped at the lesser of:

• 25% of disposable earnings for the week, or
• the amount by which disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage per week.

At a $7.25 federal minimum wage, the 30× floor protects roughly $217.50 per week — if disposable weekly earnings are at or below that floor, nothing is garnishable. This tracks the federal CCPA (15 U.S.C. § 1673). Treat the dollar figure as illustrative and verify the current federal minimum wage and § 18-4-5 text before relying on the number.

Continuing garnishment — O.C.G.A. § 18-4-20 et seq.

A continuing garnishment reaches future earnings over a fixed period — currently a 1,095-day period — under § 18-4-20 et seq., with the per-pay-period wage limit in § 18-4-53 mirroring the § 18-4-5 cap. The garnishee files periodic answers over the life of the writ.

Exemptions inside the garnishment — O.C.G.A. § 18-4-6

Section 18-4-6 lists property not subject to garnishment, including funds in IRAs, pensions, and other retirement accounts, and funds that are federally exempt — Social Security, SSI, Veterans' benefits, unemployment compensation, workers' compensation, and disability payments. These remain exempt even after deposit; the burden is on the defendant to identify and trace them.

The defendant's claim / traverse — O.C.G.A. § 18-4-15

The defendant is not automatically a party to the garnishment. Under § 18-4-15, the defendant becomes a party by filing a claim (the practical "traverse") that asserts the exemption basis or otherwise contests the garnishment — and must do so before the funds are subject to judgment, disbursement, or distribution. Once distributed, the money is gone.

Timing — O.C.G.A. § 18-4-93: file the claim promptly. The practical window is short — generally within about 20 days after the garnishee's answer (verify the exact period against current § 18-4-93). Do not wait: the controlling event is distribution of the funds, so a late claim can be worthless even if technically permitted.

Property exemptions — O.C.G.A. § 44-13-100

Georgia is an opt-out state. Under § 44-13-100(b), a Georgia debtor may not use the federal bankruptcy exemptions and must use the state exemptions set out in § 44-13-100(a). Key categories (amounts change — verify current § 44-13-100 amounts before relying on any figure):

• Homestead — § 44-13-100(a)(1): equity in the debtor's residence.
• Motor vehicle — § 44-13-100(a)(3).
• Household goods, furnishings, apparel, appliances — § 44-13-100(a)(4) (per-item and aggregate caps).
• Jewelry — § 44-13-100(a)(5).
• Wildcard — § 44-13-100(a)(6): a flat amount plus any unused-homestead spillover, applicable to any property.
• Tools of the trade / implements / books — § 44-13-100(a)(7).
• Health aids, life insurance, personal-injury and wrongful-death recoveries, support, and retirement funds — § 44-13-100(a)(2) and (a)(8)–(a)(11).

The unused-homestead spillover into the wildcard is the most useful planning feature for a debtor with little or no home equity.

Judgment lifespan — dormancy and revival

• Dormancy — O.C.G.A. § 9-12-60: a Georgia judgment becomes dormant if seven years pass without enforcement — i.e., unless a writ of execution (fi. fa.) is issued and entered/ recorded on the General Execution Docket (GED) of the county, with that activity refreshing the clock. A dormant judgment cannot be enforced until revived.
• Revival — O.C.G.A. § 9-12-61: a dormant judgment may be revived within three years of the date it became dormant (by scire facias or by action). Miss that three-year revival window on top of dormancy and enforcement is barred.

For a debtor, the dormancy/revival clock is a defense: an old judgment that went dormant and was never timely revived is unenforceable.

Common pro se post-judgment scenarios

1. Default just entered — calendar the 15-day § 9-11-55(a) right to open as of right on payment of costs; this is the cheapest and surest path. After 15 days, pivot to § 9-11-55(b) (ground + four mandatory conditions, all under oath).
2. Default in a debt-buyer case with bad service — attack as a void judgment under § 9-11-60(d)(1) for lack of personal jurisdiction (no time limit). See ga-consumer-debt.
3. Bank account garnished holding Social Security — file the § 18-4-15 claim/traverse promptly (watch the § 18-4-93 window), asserting the § 18-4-6 federal exemption before the funds are disbursed.
4. Wage garnishment, low earner — check the § 18-4-5 floor; if disposable weekly earnings are at or below ~30× the federal minimum wage, nothing is garnishable.
5. Old judgment surfaces — check the § 9-12-60 seven-year dormancy clock and whether it was revived within the § 9-12-61 three-year window; if not, it is unenforceable.

Composition

• For statewide format: ga-statewide-format
• For drafting the motion to open/set aside or the garnishment claim/traverse: ga-draft-motion
• For the supporting sworn showing / affidavit (required under § 9-11-55(b)): ga-draft-declaration
• For a proposed order opening default or sustaining a claim: ga-draft-order
• For deadline computation (15-day open-default, 30-day post-trial, dormancy/revival clocks): ga-deadlines
• For debt-buyer-specific defenses behind the default attack: ga-consumer-debt
• For venue mechanics: ga-state-court, ga-magistrate
• For citation verification: ga-fact-check

References

• references/open-default-9-11-55.md — O.C.G.A. § 9-11-55: the 15-day right (a), the post-15-day grounds and four mandatory conditions (b), and the Bowen v. Savoy "proper case" analysis
• references/set-aside-9-11-60.md — § 9-11-60(d) grounds, the § 9-11-60(f) three-year limit, and the no-limit rule for void judgments
• references/garnishment-defense.md — the post-2016 chapter (§§ 18-4-1 to 18-4-90): process/answer § 18-4-4, wage limit § 18-4-5, continuing garnishment § 18-4-20 et seq. / § 18-4-53, the § 18-4-15 claim/traverse and § 18-4-93 timing, with the Strickland v. Alexander background
• references/ga-exemptions.md — § 44-13-100 opt-out exemption schedule with the unused-homestead spillover into the wildcard
• references/judgment-dormancy-revival.md — § 9-12-60 dormancy, the GED/fi. fa. refresh, and § 9-12-61 revival