Upon the trial of claims to property which may be pending in the court, when damages are found by the jury, the damages shall be assessed upon the whole amount then due upon the execution when the value of the property in dispute exceeds the amount of the execution and upon the value of the property when the value of the property is less than the execution levied.
§ 9-13-105.How damages assessed
Chapter 13. Executions and Judicial Sales · Article 5. Claims · Last amended 1933 · Last verified July 17, 2026
In one sentenceO.C.G.A. § 9-13-105 sets the base amount for a jury’s damages award in a property-claim trial: the whole amount then due on the execution when the disputed property is worth more than the execution, and the property’s value instead when it is worth less.
Full Text of § 9-13-105
Plain-English Summary
This section is the companion rule that makes Code Section 9-13-101’s damages formula work. Once a jury decides damages are owed, something has to define what figure those damages are measured against, and that is the entire job of this provision.
The rule tracks whichever amount is at stake. When the disputed property’s value exceeds the amount due on the execution, damages are assessed on the whole amount then due on the execution. When the property is worth less than the execution levied, damages are assessed on the value of the property instead. Either way, the base amount can never exceed the smaller of what the execution demands and what the property is worth.
That cap serves a plain purpose: a claimant should not face a damages exposure larger than what was in dispute. The same value-versus-execution comparison this section establishes is the same measuring stick Code Section 9-13-101 uses to set its 10-percent damages floor, so the two provisions work as a single, consistent formula running through the article.
Frequently Asked Questions
What amount do damages get assessed against in a property claim case?
Whichever figure is smaller between the amount then due on the execution and the value of the disputed property.
Which figure applies when the property is worth more than the execution?
The whole amount then due on the execution.
Which figure applies when the property is worth less than the execution?
The value of the property itself.
Does this section set a specific dollar amount for damages?
No. It sets the base figure damages are measured against; the actual damages amount is left to the jury, subject to the 10-percent floor in Code Section 9-13-101.
Does this base-amount rule apply outside the main claim trial?
Yes. It applies to any claim trial, including the delay-damages proceeding under Code Section 9-13-104 following a dismissal or withdrawal.
Amendment History
Laws 1821, Cobb’s 1851 Digest, p. 534; Code 1863, § 3664; Code 1868, § 3688; Code 1873, § 3742; Code 1882, § 3742; Civil Code 1895, § 4627; Civil Code 1910, § 5173; Code 1933, § 39-907.
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
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