§ 9-3-30.1.Actions against manufacturers or suppliers of asbestos or material containing asbestos
Chapter 3. Limitations of Actions · Article 2. Specific Periods of Limitation · Last amended 1996 · Last verified July 17, 2026
In one sentenceGeorgia revived certain property-damage claims against asbestos manufacturers and suppliers — for removal, remediation, or reimbursement costs tied to asbestos in a building — that would otherwise have expired before July 1, 1990, but required those revived claims to be filed by that same date, without touching personal injury claims or any other person's limitations period.
(a)Notwithstanding the provisions of Code Section 9-3-30 or any other law, every action against a manufacturer or supplier of asbestos or material containing asbestos brought by or on behalf of any person or entity, public or private; or brought by or on behalf of this state or any agency, department, political subdivision, authority, board, district, or commission of the state; or brought by or on behalf of any municipality, county, or any state or local school board or local school district to recover for:
(1)Removal of asbestos or materials containing asbestos from any building owned or used by such entity;
(2)Other measures taken to correct or ameliorate any problem related to asbestos in such building;
(3)Reimbursement for such removal, correction, or amelioration related to asbestos in such building; or
(4)Any other claim for damage to real property allowed by law relating to asbestos in such building which might otherwise be barred prior to July 1, 1990, as a result of expiration of the applicable period of limitation, is revived or extended. Any action thereon shall be commenced no later than July 1, 1990.
(b)The enactment of this Code section shall not be construed to imply that any action against a manufacturer or supplier of asbestos or material containing asbestos is now barred by an existing limitations period.
(c)Nothing in this Code section shall be construed to revive, extend, change, or otherwise affect the applicable period of limitation for persons or entities not set forth and provided for in subsection (a) of this Code section.
(d)Nothing contained in this Code section shall be construed to have any effect on actions for personal injury or any other claim except as specifically provided in this Code section.
Plain-English Summary
By the late 1980s, some Georgia property owners — private individuals, businesses, the state and its agencies, counties, municipalities, and school districts — discovered asbestos in buildings they owned or used, only to find that the ordinary limitations period for property-damage claims under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-30 had already run or was about to. O.C.G.A. § 9-3-30.1 responded with a narrow revival window aimed squarely at that problem.
The section revives or extends claims for the cost of removing asbestos from a building, other measures taken to correct or reduce an asbestos problem, reimbursement for that removal or correction, and other property-damage claims tied to asbestos in the building — claims that would otherwise have been barred before July 1, 1990. But the revival comes with a hard deadline of its own: any such action had to be commenced no later than July 1, 1990. The window this section opened has long since closed for claims falling outside that period.
The remaining subsections keep the revival narrow. The statute does not suggest that any asbestos claim was already barred before this section existed, it leaves the limitations period untouched for anyone not described in subsection (a), and it has no effect on personal injury claims at all — its reach is limited strictly to the property-damage categories the section names.
Frequently Asked Questions
What kind of asbestos claims does this section revive?
Claims to recover the cost of removing asbestos from a building, other corrective measures, reimbursement for that removal or correction, or other property-damage claims tied to asbestos in the building — brought by individuals, entities, the state, or local governments and school districts.
By when did a revived asbestos property-damage claim have to be filed?
No later than July 1, 1990. The statute revives or extends claims that would otherwise have been barred before that date, but requires the action to be commenced by that same date.
Does this section affect asbestos-related personal injury claims?
No. Subsection (d) states that nothing in the section shall be construed to have any effect on actions for personal injury or any other claim except as specifically provided.
Does this section mean other asbestos claims were already time-barred before it was enacted?
No. Subsection (b) states the enactment shall not be construed to imply that any asbestos claim is barred by an existing limitations period.
Does this section change the limitations period for people or entities not listed in subsection (a)?
No. Subsection (c) states that nothing in the section revives, extends, or otherwise affects the limitations period for persons or entities not set forth in subsection (a).
Amendment History
Code 1981, § 9-3-30.1, enacted by Ga. L. 1988, p. 1996, § 1.
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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