(a) Equity will not enjoin the proceedings and processes of a court of law, absent some intervening equity or other proper defense of which a party, without fault on his part, cannot avail himself at law.
§ 9-5-3.When court proceedings enjoined; injunctions against sheriffs’ sales
Chapter 5. Injunctions · Last amended 1933 · Last verified July 17, 2026
In one sentenceThis section states that equity generally will not enjoin the proceedings of a court of law unless a party has an intervening equity or defense unavailable to him at law through no fault of his own, while separately authorizing superior court judges to enjoin a sheriff’s sale before it takes place.
Full Text of § 9-5-3
(b) Writs of injunction may be issued by judges of the superior courts to enjoin sales by sheriffs, at any time before a sale takes place, in any proper case made by application for injunction.
Plain-English Summary
Subsection (a) extends the same caution found elsewhere in this chapter to court proceedings themselves: a Georgia court of equity will not enjoin the proceedings or processes of a court of law just because a party is unhappy with how the case is going. The party has to point to some intervening equity, or another proper defense, that the ordinary legal process could not give him a chance to raise — and that gap has to exist through no fault of his own.
Subsection (b) then hands over a specific, well-worn tool for one particular kind of court process: a sheriff’s sale. Judges of the superior courts may issue an injunction to stop a sheriff’s sale at any point before the sale takes place, whenever the application presents a proper case for it.
Put together, the section explains why injunctions against ongoing litigation are rare, while confirming that a pending sheriff’s sale is treated as fair game for a late injunction, so long as the request comes in before the sale itself takes place.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will a Georgia court generally enjoin the proceedings of another court?
No. Under subsection (a), equity will not enjoin the proceedings and processes of a court of law absent some intervening equity or other proper defense the party could not use at law without fault on his part.
What must a party show to fit within the “intervening equity” exception?
The party must show an intervening equity or other proper defense that he could not avail himself of at law, and that his inability to raise it at law was not his own fault.
Can a sheriff’s sale be stopped by injunction under this section?
Yes. Subsection (b) authorizes judges of the superior courts to enjoin a sheriff’s sale at any time before the sale takes place, in any proper case made by application for injunction.
Is there a deadline for seeking an injunction against a sheriff’s sale?
The only deadline stated is that the injunction must be sought before the sale takes place; the section does not set any earlier cutoff.
Which judges have the power to enjoin a sheriff’s sale under this section?
The text gives that power to judges of the superior courts.
Amendment History
Orig. Code 1863, § 3140; Code 1868, § 3152; Code 1873, § 3218; Ga. L. 1878-79, p. 139, § 1; Code 1882, § 3218; Civil Code 1895, § 4915; Civil Code 1910, § 5492; Code 1933, § 55-103.
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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