Chapter 10. Civil Practice and Procedure Generally · Article 9. General Civil Forms · Last amended 1882 · Last verified July 17, 2026
In one sentenceO.C.G.A. § 9-10-201 offers a sample complaint for recovering a specific item of personal property from a defendant in possession of it, alleging that the plaintiff claims title to the item and demanding either its return or, if the defendant refuses, payment of the profits from withholding it.
Full Text of § 9-10-201
Text size
The form of an action for the recovery of personal property may be as follows: IN THE ______________________ COURT OF ______________________ COUNTY
A.B., STATE OF GEORGIA Plaintiff ) v. ) ) C.D., ) Civil action Defendant ) File no. ______________________ ) (Clerk will insert ) number.)
COMPLAINT The defendant herein named is a resident of ______________________ (street), ______________________ (city), ______________________ County, Georgia, and is subject to the jurisdiction of this court.
1.
Defendant C.D. is in possession of a certain (here describe the property) of the value of $______________________, to which plaintiff claims title.
2.
Defendant refuses to deliver the said ______________________ to plaintiff or to pay plaintiff the profits thereof. Wherefore, plaintiff demands judgment against defendant (here list the relief prayed for).
______________________ Attorney for plaintiff ______________________ Address
Plain-English Summary
Where the previous form in this article covers land, this one covers everything else a person might own and lose track of — a horse, a wagonload of cotton, a piece of machinery — anything a defendant is holding onto that belongs, by the plaintiff’s account, to someone else. The form asks the plaintiff to describe the item and put a dollar figure on it.
The structure mirrors the real-property form closely. The first numbered paragraph states that the defendant possesses the described property and that the plaintiff claims title to it. The second states that the defendant has refused to deliver the property back to the plaintiff, or, failing that, to pay over its profits. That “pay the profits” language echoes the land-recovery form word for word, a reminder that both templates grew from the same drafting tradition rather than being written separately for goods and land.
As with its neighboring sections, the statute frames this as a form the complaint “may” follow, not one it must track exactly. Under Georgia’s Civil Practice Act, a plaintiff needs only a short, plain statement of the claim and the relief sought, and this template demonstrates how compact that statement can be for a dispute over a specific, identifiable piece of property.
Frequently Asked Questions
What kind of property does this form cover?
It covers personal property — a described item of movable, tangible property — rather than real estate, which has its own form in the preceding section.
What must the plaintiff state about the property’s worth?
The complaint must state a dollar value for the property being claimed, in addition to describing what the property is.
What happens if the defendant will not hand the property back?
The form lets the plaintiff ask the court to order the defendant to deliver the property or, if that does not happen, to pay the plaintiff its profits instead.
Does the plaintiff have to prove how the defendant came to possess the property?
No. The form only requires alleging that the defendant currently possesses the property and that the plaintiff claims title to it.
Is using this exact wording required to sue over personal property in Georgia?
No. The statute presents it as a form the complaint “may be,” offered as a guide under the state’s notice-pleading standard rather than as mandatory language.
Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, published by the
Official Code of Georgia Annotated, Georgia Code Revision Commission / LexisNexis. Last verified July 17, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as:georgia form action recovery of personal propertygeorgia trover complaint samplesample complaint recover chattel georgiageorgia sue to get property back form