The limitations of time within which various actions may be commenced and pursued within this state to enforce the rights of the parties are extended, only insofar as the enforcement of rights which may be instituted by way of counterclaim and cross-claim, so as to allow parties, up to and including the last day upon which the answer or other defensive pleadings should have been filed, to commence the prosecution and enforcement of rights by way of counterclaim and cross-claim, provided that the final date allowed by such limitations for the commencement of such actions shall not have expired prior to filing of the main action.
§ 9-3-97.Limitations extended for counterclaims and cross-claims
Chapter 3. Limitations of Actions · Article 5. Tolling of Limitations · Last amended 1967 · Last verified July 17, 2026
In one sentenceO.C.G.A. § 9-3-97 extends the deadline for filing a counterclaim or cross-claim through the last day an answer or other defensive pleading was due, so long as the limitations period on that claim had not already expired before the plaintiff filed the main action.
Full Text of § 9-3-97
Plain-English Summary
Ordinarily, a claim has to be filed before its own limitations period runs out. This section carves out a practical exception for counterclaims and cross-claims, the claims a defendant raises back against the plaintiff or against a co-defendant in the same lawsuit. It extends the deadline for those claims, letting a party file them any time up to and including the last day on which an answer or other defensive pleading should have been filed.
The extension only helps if the underlying claim was still alive when the main action was filed. If the limitations period on the counterclaim or cross-claim had already run out before the plaintiff filed suit, this section does not resurrect it. The rule buys extra time at the back end — past what would otherwise be the deadline — but it does not reach back to revive a claim that was already dead when the lawsuit began.
The practical effect is to let a defendant respond fully to a lawsuit without racing a separate, unrelated deadline on a related claim arising from the same dispute. Without this rule, a defendant served near the end of a limitations period could lose the chance to counterclaim just because the time to answer ran longer than the time left to sue.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much extra time does O.C.G.A. § 9-3-97 give a party to file a counterclaim or cross-claim?
Up to and including the last day on which the answer or other defensive pleading should have been filed.
Does this section revive a counterclaim whose limitations period had already run before the lawsuit was filed?
No. The extension applies “provided that the final date allowed by such limitations for the commencement of such actions shall not have expired prior to filing of the main action.”
What kinds of claims does this extension cover?
Only “rights which may be instituted by way of counterclaim and cross-claim” — not an independent claim filed as a new, separate lawsuit.
Does this section shorten any limitations periods?
No. It extends them, “only insofar as” enforcement by counterclaim and cross-claim is concerned.
What condition must be met before a party can use the extended deadline?
The limitations period for the counterclaim or cross-claim must not have already expired before the main action was filed.
Amendment History
Ga. L. 1964, p. 165, § 1; Ga. L. 1967, p. 226, § 37.
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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