Section 15-10-53. Filing documents by electronic means

   (a) Any magistrate court may provide for the filing of civil, garnishment, distress warrant, dispossessory, foreclosure, abandoned motor vehicle, and all other noncriminal actions, claims, answers, counterclaims, pleadings, postjudgment interrogatories, and other documents by electronic means.

(b) Any pleading or document filed electronically shall be in a format prescribed by the court.

(c) Any pleading or document filed electronically shall include the electronic signature of the person filing the pleading or document as defined in Code Section 10-12-2.

(d) Any pleading or document filed electronically which is required to be verified, verified under oath, or be accompanied by an affidavit may include such verification, oath, or affidavit by one of the following methods:

   (1) As provided in Code Section 10-12-11;

   (2) By oath or affirmation of the party filing the pleading at the time of the trial of the case;

   (3) By supplemental verified pleading; or

   (4) By electronic verification, oath, or affidavit in substantially the following form:
      "By affixing this electronic verification, oath, or affidavit to the 
      pleading(s) submitted to the court and attaching my electronic signature 
      hereon, I do hereby swear or affirm that the statements set forth in the 
      above pleading(s) are true and correct.
      Date:                  Electronic Signature:                                   "
 
   (e) Service of any claim or complaint filed electronically shall be made as 
provided by law. Service of all subsequent pleadings and notices may be made 
electronically only on a party who has filed pleadings electronically; service 
on all other parties shall be made by such other means as are provided by law. 
Each pleading or document which is required to be served on other parties 
shall include a certificate of service indicating the method by which service 
on the other party has been made. An electronic certificate of service shall 
be made in substantially the following form:
   "By affixing this electronic certificate of service to the pleading(s) or 
   document(s) submitted to the court and attaching my electronic signature 
   hereon, I do hereby swear or affirm that I have this date served the 
   opposing party with a copy of this pleading by e-mail or placing a copy in 
   regular mail with sufficient postage thereon to the following address: (set 
   forth address of opposing party).
   Date:           Electronic Signature:                                      "

(f) Nothing in this Code section shall prevent a party from contesting an electronic pleading, document, or signature on the basis of forgery or fraud. Any pleading or document found by the court to have been fraudulently filed shall be stricken from the record.

(g) Where the authenticity or the integrity of an electronic pleading, document, or signature is challenged, the proponent of the electronic pleading, document, or signature shall have the burden of proving that the electronic pleading, document, or signature is authentic.

(h) Upon the receipt of any pleading or other document filed electronically, the clerk of magistrate court shall notify the filer of receipt of the pleading or document. Such notice shall include the date and time the court accepted the pleading or document as filed.

(i) Any pleading or document filed electronically shall be deemed filed as of the time the clerk of court gains electronic control of the document.

(j) When the filing of the pleading or document requires the payment of a fee, the clerk of magistrate court may establish procedures for the payment of such fees connected with such filing. The filing of any such pleading or document shall create an obligation by the party to pay such fee to the clerk of court instanter.

(k) The clerk of court may assess an additional transaction fee or fees for each electronic filing and electronic payment.

Code 1981, § 15-10-53, enacted by Ga. L. 2000, p. 1580, § 1; Ga. L. 2009, p. 698, § 3/HB 126.