Loading chat...
GA HB1017
Bill
Status
Introduced
2/11/2016
Primary Sponsor
Barry Fleming
Click for details
AI Summary
- Amends the Georgia Civil Practice Act to explicitly include "electronically stored information" (ESI) as a category of discoverable material alongside documents and tangible things across all discovery methods, including depositions, interrogatories, production requests, subpoenas, and requests for admission
- Establishes new procedures for claiming privilege or protection over trial preparation materials, requiring parties to expressly describe withheld information and to promptly return, sequester, or destroy any privileged information inadvertently produced until the claim is resolved
- Creates a new framework for consequences when a party fails to preserve ESI in anticipated or ongoing litigation, allowing courts to order curative measures, permit adverse inference jury instructions, or impose sanctions such as striking claims, dismissing actions, or entering default judgment when destruction was intentional
- Introduces proportionality considerations for protective orders, allowing courts to weigh factors such as the importance of issues at stake, amount in controversy, parties' relative access to information, and whether the burden of discovery outweighs its likely benefit
- Updates cross-references across approximately 50 Code sections throughout Georgia law — spanning agriculture, insurance, elections, education, and other areas — to include "electronically stored information" in subpoena and records production provisions, with an effective date of July 1, 2016
Legislative Description
"Georgia Civil Practice Act"; general provisions governing discovery; change provisions
Last Action
House Committee Favorably Reported
2/25/2016
Full Bill Text
No bill text available