2021 Georgia Code
Title 32 - Highways, Bridges, and Ferries
Chapter 3 - Acquisition of Property for Transportation Purposes
Article 1 - General Provisions
§ 32-3-19. Jury Verdict; Entry of Judgment; Award; Effect on Condemnor's Title

1. The verdict of the jury shall have respect to the lands described in the declaration of taking as set forth in Code Section 32-3-6, or such interest therein as may be described in said declaration, or to any separate claim against the property or interest therein as may be ordered and may be molded under the direction of the court so as to do complete justice and avoid confusion of interest. The court shall give such direction as to the disposition of the fund as shall be proper according to the rights of the several respondents.
2. After the verdict of the jury, the court shall, in instances where no motion for new trial or notice of appeal is filed within the time provided for by law or where such verdict has been affirmed by a proper appellate court and the remittitur from such court has been made the judgment of the superior court, enter judgment in favor of the condemnee and against the condemnor in the amount of such verdict, together with the accrued court costs, which judgment shall be immediately credited with the sum of money deposited by the condemnor with the declaration of taking and which shall bear interest as provided in subsection (c) of this Code section; and, upon the failure or refusal of the condemnor immediately to deposit such increase in such sum into the registry of the court, as well as the accrued court costs, it shall be the duty of said clerk to issue execution therefor.
3. After just and adequate compensation has been ascertained and established by judgment, the judgment shall include, as part of the just and adequate compensation awarded, interest from the date of taking to the date of payment pursuant to final judgment at the rate of 7 percent per annum on the amount awarded by final judgment as the value of the property as of the date of taking; but interest shall not be allowed on so much thereof as shall have been paid into the court and was subject to withdrawal by the condemnee without the requirement of posting a bond as required by Code Section 32-3-15. However, if the condemnee posted the bond and withdrew the additional deposit made after the special master's award and is later awarded a sum greater than the original deposit but less than the special master's award, the condemnee shall not be entitled to interest on this additional deposit for the time he had use of the money; but he shall be entitled to receive the percentage of the reasonable cost of the bond that the sum awarded over the original deposit bears to the sum of the special master's award over the original deposit. If the condemnee is later awarded a sum that exceeds the special master's award and he has posted bond and withdrawn the additional deposit, he shall not be entitled to interest on this additional deposit for the time he had use of the money but he shall be entitled to the reasonable cost of the bond.
4. No sum so paid into the court shall be charged with commissions or poundage.
5. In any event, the case shall be transferred, under the conditions set out in this Code section, to the closed docket. Nothing in this Code section shall be construed as in any way affecting the title acquired by the condemnor by virtue of the declaration of taking as provided for in Code Section 32-3-7.

(Code 1933, § 95A-616, enacted by Ga. L. 1973, p. 947, § 1.)

- Interest on judgments generally, § 7-4-12.

- For annual survey on local government law, see 68 Mercer L. Rev. 199 (2016). For annual survey on real property, see 69 Mercer L. Rev. 251 (2017).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Entry of judgment.

- Language of subsection (b) of O.C.G.A. § 32-3-19, which explicitly directs the entry of judgment in three enumerated instances, is meaningless or mere surplusage, and that language does not implicitly prohibit the entry of judgment in unenumerated instances. DOT v. Petkas, 189 Ga. App. 633, 377 S.E.2d 166, cert. denied, 189 Ga. App. 911, 377 S.E.2d 166 (1988).

- Prejudgment interest rate specified by subsection (c) of O.C.G.A. § 32-3-19 compensates the condemnee for the use of funds generated in a condemnation action, not for the use of the property condemned; thus, this interest rate is not part of "just compensation," and legislative determination of the rate does not involve improper exercise of a judicial function. Brooks v. DOT, 254 Ga. 60, 327 S.E.2d 175 (1985).

- If no suspect class of condemnees is involved, application of different statutory percentages to prejudgment and postjudgment interest in condemnation cases is not unconstitutional. Brooks v. DOT, 254 Ga. 60, 327 S.E.2d 175 (1985).

- O.C.G.A. §§ 7-4-12 and32-3-19 are to be construed together so that interest to the condemnee payable under these eminent domain proceedings is 7 percent between the date of taking and the final judgment and 12 percent thereafter until paid. Department of Transp. v. Cochran, 160 Ga. App. 583, 287 S.E.2d 599 (1981); DOT v. Delta Mach. Prods. Co., 162 Ga. App. 252, 291 S.E.2d 104 (1982).

Property owner was entitled to interest under the statute since the lump sum estimate of just and adequate compensation, when paid into the court by the defendant city, was not immediately subject to withdrawal by the property owner as the sum had not been apportioned among the property owner and the owner's tenants. Chouinard v. City of E. Point, 237 Ga. App. 266, 514 S.E.2d 220 (1999).

In a condemnation action, the trial court erred in denying a lessor's motion in limine to exclude evidence of the lessor's entitlement to statutory pre-judgment interest under O.C.G.A. § 32-3-19 because the fact that the trial court could later instruct the jury to disregard irrelevant evidence was not a reason to allow the jury to hear the irrelevant evidence; under the statutory framework of § 32-3-19, the amount of pre-judgment interest due a condemnee is determined after the jury enters a verdict. CNL APF Partners, LP v. DOT, 307 Ga. App. 511, 705 S.E.2d 862 (2010).

Trial court erred by failing to award prejudgment interest on $1.27 million from the date of the taking through the date that amount was deposited into court as that amount was not initially deposited by the Department of Transportation. Shiv Aban, Inc. v. Ga. DOT, 336 Ga. App. 804, 784 S.E.2d 134 (2016).

Term "just and adequate compensation" in subsection (c) of O.C.G.A. § 32-3-19 does not include prejudgment interest as an integral part which would make prejudgment interest subject to postjudgment interest. Department of Transp. v. Consolidated Equities Corp., 181 Ga. App. 672, 353 S.E.2d 603 (1987).

Post-judgment interest in condemnation actions is to be awarded in accordance with O.C.G.A. § 7-4-12 at 12 percent per annum rather than at 7 percent under O.C.G.A. § 32-3-19, as the former is the more recent of the statutes. Department of Transp. v. Vest, 160 Ga. App. 368, 287 S.E.2d 85 (1981).

- In a condemnation case in which the jury awarded the property owner $86,000, because the DOT had initially paid $118,250 into the court's registry, the trial court properly entered judgment against the owner in the amount of $32,250. Curry v. DOT, 341 Ga. App. 482, 801 S.E.2d 95 (2017).

- Last word on value is the jury's verdict; the jury establishes the value. If the jury finds as a fact that the condemnor underestimated the value of the land, the condemnor must pay more; if it finds as a fact that the condemnor overestimated the value, the condemnee is not entitled to the proceeds of the government agency's mistake. Kellett v. Department of Transp., 174 Ga. App. 214, 329 S.E.2d 514 (1985).

- Mere filing of a timely motion for new trial or a notice of appeal, both of which contemplate the prior entry of a judgment on the jury's verdict, do not destroy the underlying viability of that prior judgment as a final appealable order in the case. DOT v. Petkas, 189 Ga. App. 633, 377 S.E.2d 166, cert. denied, 189 Ga. App. 911, 377 S.E.2d 166 (1988).

Cited in Department of Transp. v. Doss, 238 Ga. 480, 233 S.E.2d 144 (1977).

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Just and adequate compensation interest vests on date of taking.

- Right to receive interest as part of just and adequate compensation vests on date of taking, which is the day the declaration of taking, accompanied by the payment of just and adequate compensation, is filed in a superior court. 1980 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 80-100.

- Condemnation cases filed before the effective date of O.C.G.A. § 7-4-12 bear interest at 7 percent on the amount recovered from the date of taking. Cases filed on and after the effective date of O.C.G.A. § 7-4-12 bear interest at 7 percent from the date of taking to the date of final judgment and at 12 percent from the date of final judgment. 1980 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 80-100.

- Legislature intended that only money, and not surplus property, be placed into the court registry for satisfaction of any judgment resulting from a condemnation action. 1992 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 92-8.