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Committee advances bill to restore private process servers for evictions after appellate decision
Summary
Senators advanced House Bill 270 unanimously; the measure clarifies that certified private process servers may serve dispossessory (eviction) actions after a 2024 appellate decision limited prior practice.
House Bill 270 moved out of the Senate Judiciary Committee by a unanimous voice vote after the sponsor said the measure responds to an appellate decision that affected service in dispossessory proceedings.
Representative Reeves, the bill’s sponsor, told the committee HB 270 “fixes a problem that came up at the appellate level last year in the Mancuso versus Caetals case,” a January 2024 decision that, according to the sponsor, left no statutory basis for private process servers to serve evictions. The sponsor said the bill restores a longstanding practice by creating a statutory basis for certified private process servers to serve dispossessory actions while preserving judicial oversight: a judge still must appoint or authorize a server for a case or by standing order.
Why it matters: Evictions are among the highest-volume civil filings in some Georgia jurisdictions, particularly in metro counties, and private process servers perform a substantial share of service in those cases, the sponsor said. The bill aims to prevent delays in eviction dockets caused by uncertainty about who may lawfully serve process following the court decision.
Clarifications in committee: Senators asked about certification and how servers would be approved. The sponsor said the bill uses language referencing “approved private process servers” and pointed to existing statutory certification for process servers (discussed in committee as code section 9-11-4.1). He said judges would continue to exercise supervision by appointing servers in individual cases or via standing orders.
Public input and votes: One person, Elizabeth Apling, was listed as present to speak and conferred with the author before the committee; no opposition testimony was recorded in committee. The committee recorded a unanimous do-pass vote and designated the Senate floor leader to carry the bill to the chamber.
Next steps: The bill was advanced to the Senate floor. The sponsor and committee referenced the need for any technical cleanup in subsequent hearings if courts or stakeholders identify drafting gaps.
