Where, in an action against two or more joint contractors, joint and several contractors, or partners, service is perfected on only part of the contractors or partners and the officer serving the writ returns that the others are not to be found, the judgment obtained shall bind, and execution may be levied on, the joint or partnership property as well as the individual property, real and personal, of the defendant or defendants who have been served with a copy of the process. However, the judgment shall not bind nor shall execution be levied on the individual property of the defendant or defendants not served with process.
§ 9-13-59.What property liable to execution in action against joint contractors or partners when not all served
Chapter 13. Executions and Judicial Sales · Article 3. Property Against Which Execution Levied · Last amended 1933 · Last verified July 17, 2026
In one sentenceO.C.G.A. § 9-13-59 provides that when only some of several joint contractors or partners are served and the others cannot be found, the resulting judgment binds and execution may reach the joint or partnership property along with the individual property of the defendants who were served, but not the individual property of the defendants who were never served.
Full Text of § 9-13-59
Plain-English Summary
Lawsuits against joint contractors or partners do not always manage to serve every defendant. This section addresses what a judgment obtained in that situation can reach. When service is perfected on only part of the joint contractors, joint and several contractors, or partners named in an action, and the officer serving the writ returns that the others could not be found, the judgment still stands — and it reaches further than just the served defendants' own pockets.
Execution on that judgment may be levied on the joint or partnership property as a whole, and on the individual property, real and personal, of whichever defendants were the ones served. The served defendants do not escape personal liability just because their co-obligors evaded service; their own separate assets remain fully exposed alongside the shared partnership or joint property.
The defendants who were never served get different treatment. The statute draws a firm line: the judgment does not bind them personally, and execution cannot reach their individual property. Their stake in the joint or partnership property can still be caught up in a levy on that shared property, but their separately owned assets stay out of reach until they are properly brought into the case.
Frequently Asked Questions
If only some partners in a lawsuit are served, does the judgment still bind the joint property?
Yes. O.C.G.A. § 9-13-59 lets execution reach the joint or partnership property even when some of the joint contractors or partners were never served.
Can execution reach the individual property of a partner who was served?
Yes. The individual property, real and personal, of any defendant who was served with the process is subject to execution on the judgment.
Can execution reach the individual property of a partner who was never served?
No. The statute states that the judgment shall not bind, and execution shall not be levied on, the individual property of a defendant who was not served with process.
What has to happen for this rule to apply?
The officer serving the writ must return that the unserved contractors or partners could not be found, and service must have been perfected on at least some of the named defendants.
Does an unserved partner's share of the joint property remain exposed to execution?
The joint or partnership property as a whole may be levied on, which can reach an unserved partner's interest in that shared property even though his separately owned assets cannot be touched.
Amendment History
Laws 1820, Cobb’s 1851 Digest, p. 485; Code 1863, §§ 3263, 3264; Code 1868, §§ 3274, 3275; Code 1873, §§ 3350, 3351; Code 1882, §§ 3350, 3351; Civil Code 1895, §§ 5009, 5010; Civil Code 1910, §§ 5591, 5592; Code 1933, § 39-117.
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 judgment against joint contractors not all servedexecution on partnership property some partners unserved georgiaindividual property unserved defendant georgia executionjoint and several contractors service of process georgia