Petition for Judicial Review - Georgia

PETITION FOR JUDICIAL REVIEW

Filing Gate

Use this petition for a person who has exhausted available agency remedies and is aggrieved by a final decision in a contested case under O.C.G.A. § 50-13-19(a). A preliminary or intermediate ruling is immediately reviewable only when review of the final decision would not provide an adequate remedy.

Under O.C.G.A. § 50-13-19(b), file within 30 days after service of the final decision or, if rehearing was requested, within 30 days after the rehearing decision.

Venue ordinarily lies in Fulton County or the petitioner's county of residence. A corporate petitioner may also use the Georgia county of its principal place of business. Agriculture and Public Service Commission matters have special venue rules in subsection (b).

Court Caption

IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF [________________________________] COUNTY

STATE OF GEORGIA

Civil Action File No.: [________________________________]

PETITION FOR JUDICIAL REVIEW

(O.C.G.A. § 50-13-19)

1. Parties and Decision

1. Petitioner [________________________________] resides or maintains its principal Georgia place of business in [________________________________] County.

2. Respondent [________________________________] issued the final decision in Agency Matter No. [________________________________].

3. The final decision was served on [__/__/____]. A copy is attached as Exhibit A.

4. Petitioner is aggrieved because [________________________________].

2. Jurisdiction, Venue, Timeliness, and Exhaustion

5. Petitioner exhausted the available administrative remedies by [________________________________].

6. This petition is timely because [________________________________].

7. Venue is proper under O.C.G.A. § 50-13-19(b) because [________________________________].

8. Each party of record in the agency proceeding is identified in Exhibit B and is being served with a copy of this petition.

3. Preserved Grounds for Review

O.C.G.A. § 50-13-19(c) generally limits review to objections urged before the agency. State where each issue was preserved: [________________________________].

Petitioner seeks reversal or modification on these grounds under subsection (h):

☐ Violation of constitutional or statutory provisions
☐ Action exceeding the agency's statutory authority
☐ Unlawful procedure
☐ Other error of law
☐ A clearly erroneous decision in view of reliable, probative, and substantial evidence on the whole record
☐ Arbitrary, capricious, abusive, or clearly unwarranted exercise of discretion

Supporting allegations and record citations: [________________________________]

4. Record and Stay

The agency must transmit the original or a certified copy of the record within 30 days after service of the petition unless the court allows more time. O.C.G.A. § 50-13-19(e).

Filing this petition does not itself stay enforcement. Petitioner:

☐ Does not request a stay
☐ Requests a stay from the Agency for good cause
☐ Requests a stay from the Court for good cause

Special stay restrictions may apply to environmental permits and medical or dental licenses under O.C.G.A. § 50-13-19(d).

5. Prayer

Petitioner asks the Court to:

1. Accept jurisdiction;
2. Affirm, reverse, modify, or remand as authorized by O.C.G.A. § 50-13-19(h);
3. Enter an appropriate stay if separately justified;
4. Award allowable costs; and
5. Grant other lawful relief.

Signature

Dated: [__/__/____]

Signature: ______________________________
[Attorney Name], Georgia Bar No. [________]
[Law Firm / Address / Telephone / Email]
Attorney for Petitioner

Certificate of Service

I certify that on [__/__/____], a true copy of this petition was served on the Agency and every party of record by [________________________________].

Signature: ______________________________

Filing Checklist

☐ Final contested-case decision confirmed
☐ Administrative remedies exhausted
☐ Thirty-day deadline calculated from service
☐ Correct superior court selected
☐ Agency and every party of record served
☐ Petition states interest, aggrievement, and subsection (h) grounds
☐ Issue preservation checked
☐ Final decision attached
☐ Stay motion separately supported if needed

Sources and References

• Georgia Secretary of State, current agency rules and administrative publications: https://rules.sos.ga.gov/
• O.C.G.A. § 50-13-19 text (2024 compilation): https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/title-50/chapter-13/article-1/section-50-13-19/