Rule 5.1.Prompt Completion

Rule 5.1 sets the clock that shapes almost every Georgia civil case: six months. Once the defendant’s answer is filed, a party gets six months to use the court’s compulsory process — subpoenas, motions to compel, the machinery that forces reluctant witnesses and parties to produce evidence — to get discovery done. If no answer ever gets filed within thirty days of service, or by whatever date a court order or extension sets, the six-month clock starts thirty days after service instead, so a defendant who never answers can’t freeze discovery indefinitely by doing nothing.

The rule doesn’t just set an outer boundary — it requires discovery to be commenced promptly and pursued diligently, not merely squeezed in before the deadline. A party who sits on discovery for four months and then tries to cram everything into the final weeks may be pushing against both halves of the rule, not just the completion date.

None of this is fixed in stone. The court may open, extend, reopen, or shorten the discovery period at any time, in its discretion, which gives judges room to accommodate complex cases or reel in discovery that has dragged on without excuse. In practice, parties who need more time routinely ask the court to extend the period rather than let the six months lapse without a request.