Georgia law allows a lender to quickly obtain a court order to repossess property of a borrower with a Writ of Possession.  Unlike normal lawsuits, petitions for writs of possession require immediate responses.  O.C.G.A. § 44-14-230 et seq. provides that borrowers must respond within 7 days of service of the summons.

Such a short time-frame unfairly affects Georgia’s farmers.  Many farmers, be they in poultry, livestock, logging, or traditional crops, have their equipment financed with lending institutions.  A missed flock or bad weather can easily lead to a missed payment and a petition for a writ of possession for the financed equipment.  A mere 7 days to respond is not enough.  Our farmers have demanding jobs and are usually many miles from the courthouse and legal offices.  Moreover, many farmers organize their business under a corporation, which means the farmer cannot represent the corporation in the lawsuit — an attorney must be hired.  Seven days simply isn’t enough time.

The Georgia legislature should amend O.C.G.A. § 44-14-230 et seq. to provide a longer response period or other safeguards in order to protect our local family farmers, be they in Dalton, Resaca, Lafayette, Chatsworth, or anywhere in Northwest Georgia.

Often times, farmers faced with a writ of possession are best served by filing a Chapter 12 Reorganization.  Chapter 12 is a special bankruptcy chapter for family farmers.  They can keep their farm and their assets, while they restructure their debts.  It puts a stop to the writ of possession and any other foreclosure or repossession efforts.  We have saved individual clients hundreds of thousands of dollars through the Chapter 12 process.