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HB84.html
01 HB 84/FA
House Bill 84
(AM)
By: Representatives Martin of the 47th,
Allen of the 117th, Reichert of the 126th and Campbell of
the 42nd
A BILL TO BE
ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Article 2 of Chapter 3 of Title 9 of the Official
Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to specific periods of limitation, and
Chapter 2 of Title 18 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
debtor and creditor relations, so as to enact the Uniform Fraudulent Transfers
Act; to provide for a short title and for definitions; to provide for
circumstances when a debtor or a debtor partnership is insolvent, when a debtor
is presumed insolvent, when value is given for a transfer or obligation, when a
transfer made or obligation incurred by a debtor is fraudulent as to a creditor,
and when a transfer is made and an obligation is incurred; to provide factors
for determining actual intent in a transfer or obligation; to provide for relief
for a creditor against a fraudulent transfer or obligation; to provide for
instances when a transfer or obligation is not voidable; to provide for rights
of a good faith transferee or obligee if a transfer or obligation is voided; to
provide for statutes of limitation; to provide for supplementation of this Act;
to remove certain duplicate or redundant provisions relating to conveyances by
debtors deemed fraudulent and the validity of a conveyance to an innocent
subsequent purchaser; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other
purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF
GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Article 2 of Chapter 3 of Title 9 of the Official Code of
Georgia Annotated, relating to specific periods of limitation, is amended by
inserting a new Code section to be designated Code Section 9-3-35 to read as
follows:
"9-3-35.
An
action by a creditor seeking relief under the provisions of Article 4 of Chapter
2 of Title 18, known as the 'Uniform Fraudulent Transfers Act,' shall be brought
within the applicable period set out in Code Section
18-2-79."
SECTION 2.
Chapter 2 of Title 18 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relating to debtor and creditor relations, is amended in Article 2,
relating to acts void as against creditors, by striking Code Sections 18-2-22,
relating to conveyances by debtors deemed fraudulent, and 18-2-23, relating to
validity of conveyance to innocent subsequent purchaser, and inserting in lieu
thereof the
following:
"18-2-22.
The
following acts by debtors shall be fraudulent in law against creditors and
others and as to them shall be null and
void:
(1) Every assignment or
transfer by a debtor, insolvent at the time, of real or personal property or
choses in action of any description to any person, either in trust or for the
benefit of or on behalf of creditors, where any trust or benefit is reserved to
the assignor or any person for
him;
(2) Every conveyance of real or
personal estate, by writing or otherwise, and every bond, suit, judgment and
execution, or contract of any description had or made with intention to delay or
defraud creditors, where such intention is known to the taking party; a bona
fide transaction on a valuable consideration, where the taking party is without
notice or ground for reasonable suspicion of said intent of the debtor, shall be
valid; and
(3) Every voluntary deed
or conveyance, not for a valuable consideration, made by a debtor who is
insolvent at the time of the conveyance.
Reserved.
18-2-23.
Where
a sale void as against creditors is made, the property has not been seized, and
no step has been taken to set the sale aside, the fraudulent vendee can convey
to an innocent purchaser from him, for value and without notice of the fraud, a
title good as against the claims or judgments of the defrauded
creditors.
Reserved."
SECTION 3.
Said chapter is further amended by inserting a new article
to be designated Article 4 to read as follows:
"ARTICLE
4
18-2-70.
This article shall be
known and may be cited as the 'Uniform Fraudulent Transfers
Act.'
18-2-71.
As used in
this article:
(1) 'Affiliate'
means:
(A) A person who directly or indirectly owns,
controls, or holds with power to vote, 20 percent or more of the outstanding
voting securities of the debtor, other than a person who holds the
securities:
(i) As a fiduciary or agent without sole
discretionary power to vote the securities; or
(ii)
Solely to secure a debt, if the person has not exercised the power to
vote;
(B) A corporation 20 percent or more of whose
outstanding voting securities are directly or indirectly owned, controlled, or
held with power to vote, by the debtor or a person who directly or indirectly
owns, controls, or holds with power to vote, 20 percent or more of the
outstanding voting securities of the debtor, other than a person who holds the
securities:
(i) As a fiduciary or agent without sole
power to vote the securities; or
(ii) Solely to secure
a debt, if the person has not in fact exercised the power to
vote;
(C) A person whose business is operated by the
debtor under a lease or other agreement, or a person substantially all of whose
assets are controlled by the debtor; or
(D) A person
who operates the
debtor´s
business under a lease or other agreement or controls substantially all of the
debtor´s
assets.
(2) 'Asset' means property of a debtor, but
the term does not include:
(A) Property to the extent
it is encumbered by a valid lien;
(B) Property to the
extent it is generally exempt under nonbankruptcy law;
or
(C) An interest in property held in tenancy by the
entireties to the extent it is not subject to process by a creditor holding a
claim against only one tenant.
(3) 'Claim' means a
right to payment, whether or not the right is reduced to judgment, liquidated,
unliquidated, fixed, contingent, matured, unmatured, disputed, undisputed,
legal, equitable, secured, or unsecured.
(4)
'Creditor' means a person who has a claim.
(5) 'Debt'
means liability on a claim.
(6) 'Debtor' means a
person who is liable on a claim.
(7) 'Insider'
includes:
(A) If the debtor is an
individual:
(i) A relative of the debtor or of a
general partner of the debtor;
(ii) A partnership in
which the debtor is a general partner;
(iii) A general
partner in a partnership described in division (ii) of this subparagraph;
or
(iv) A corporation of which the debtor is a
director, officer, or person in control;
(B) If the
debtor is a corporation:
(i) A director of the
debtor;
(ii) An officer of the
debtor;
(iii) A person in control of the
debtor;
(iv) A partnership in which the debtor is a
general partner;
(v) A general partner in a
partnership described in division (iv) of this subparagraph;
or
(vi) A relative of a general partner, director,
officer, or person in control of the debtor;
(C) If
the debtor is a partnership:
(i) A general partner in
the debtor;
(ii) A relative of a general partner in,
or a general partner of, or a person in control of the
debtor;
(iii) Another partnership in which the debtor
is a general partner;
(iv) A general partner in a
partnership described in division (iii) of this subparagraph;
or
(v) A person in control of the
debtor;
(D) An affiliate, or an insider of an
affiliate as if the affiliate were the debtor; and
(E)
A managing agent of the debtor.
(8) 'Lien' means a
charge against or an interest in property to secure payment of a debt or
performance of an obligation, and includes a security interest created by
agreement, a judicial lien obtained by legal or equitable process or
proceedings, a common-law lien, or a statutory
lien.
(9) 'Person' means an individual, partnership,
corporation, association, organization, government or governmental subdivision
or agency, business trust, estate, trust, or any other legal or commercial
entity.
(10) 'Property' means anything that may be the
subject of ownership.
(11) 'Relative' means an
individual related by consanguinity within the third degree as determined by the
common law, a spouse, or an individual related to a spouse within the third
degree as so determined and includes an individual in an adoptive relationship
within the third degree.
(12) 'Transfer' means every
mode, direct or indirect, absolute or conditional, voluntary or involuntary, of
disposing of or parting with an asset or an interest in an asset, and includes
payment of money, release, lease, and creation of a lien or other
encumbrance.
(13) 'Valid lien' means a lien that is
effective against the holder of a judicial lien subsequently obtained by legal
or equitable process or proceedings.
18-2-72.
(a) A debtor is
insolvent if the sum of the
debtor´s
debts is greater than all of the
debtor´s
assets, at a fair valuation.
(b) A debtor who is
generally not paying his or her debts as they become due is presumed to be
insolvent.
(c) A partnership is insolvent under
subsection (a) of this Code section if the sum of the
partnership´s
debts is greater than the aggregate of all of the
partnership´s
assets, at a fair valuation, and the sum of the excess of the value of each
general
partner´s
nonpartnership assets over the
partner´s
nonpartnership debts.
(d) Assets under this Code
section do not include property that has been transferred, concealed, or removed
with intent to hinder, delay, or defraud creditors or that has been transferred
in a manner making the transfer voidable under this
article.
(e) Debts under this Code section do not
include an obligation to the extent it is secured by a valid lien on property of
the debtor not included as an
asset.
18-2-73.
(a) Value
is given for a transfer or an obligation if, in exchange for the transfer or
obligation, property is transferred or an antecedent debt is secured or
satisfied, but value does not include an unperformed promise made otherwise than
in the ordinary course of the
promisor´s
business to furnish support to the debtor or another
person.
(b) For the purposes of paragraph (2) of
subsection (a) of Code Section 18-2-74 and Code Section 18-2-75, a person gives
a reasonably equivalent value if the person acquires an interest of the debtor
in an asset pursuant to a regularly conducted, noncollusive foreclosure sale or
execution of a power of sale for the acquisition or disposition of the interest
of the debtor upon default under a mortgage, deed of trust, or security
agreement.
(c) A transfer is made for present value if
the exchange between the debtor and the transferee is intended by them to be
contemporaneous and is in fact substantially
contemporaneous.
18-2-74.
(a)
A transfer made or obligation incurred by a debtor is fraudulent as to a
creditor, whether the
creditor´s
claim arose before or after the transfer was made or the obligation was
incurred, if the debtor made the transfer or incurred the
obligation:
(1) With actual intent to hinder, delay,
or defraud any creditor of the debtor; or
(2) Without
receiving a reasonably equivalent value in exchange for the transfer or
obligation, and the debtor:
(A) Was engaged or was
about to engage in a business or a transaction for which the remaining assets of
the debtor were unreasonably small in relation to the business or transaction;
or
(B) Intended to incur, or believed or reasonably
should have believed that he or she would incur, debts beyond his or her ability
to pay as they became due.
(b) In determining actual
intent under paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of this Code section, consideration
may be given, among other factors, to whether:
(1) The
transfer or obligation was to an insider;
(2) The
debtor retained possession or control of the property transferred after the
transfer;
(3) The transfer or obligation was disclosed
or concealed;
(4) Before the transfer was made or
obligation was incurred, the debtor had been sued or threatened with
suit;
(5) The transfer was of substantially all the
debtor´s
assets;
(6) The debtor
absconded;
(7) The debtor removed or concealed
assets;
(8) The value of the consideration received by
the debtor was reasonably equivalent to the value of the asset transferred or
the amount of the obligation incurred;
(9) The debtor
was insolvent or became insolvent shortly after the transfer was made or the
obligation was incurred;
(10) The transfer occurred
shortly before or shortly after a substantial debt was incurred;
and
(11) The debtor transferred the essential assets
of the business to a lienor who transferred the assets to an insider of the
debtor.
18-2-75.
(a) A
transfer made or obligation incurred by a debtor is fraudulent as to a creditor
whose claim arose before the transfer was made or the obligation was incurred if
the debtor made the transfer or incurred the obligation without receiving a
reasonably equivalent value in exchange for the transfer or obligation and the
debtor was insolvent at that time or the debtor became insolvent as a result of
the transfer or obligation.
(b) A transfer made by a
debtor is fraudulent as to a creditor whose claim arose before the transfer was
made if the transfer was made to an insider for an antecedent debt, the debtor
was insolvent at that time, and the insider had reasonable cause to believe that
the debtor was
insolvent.
18-2-76.
For
the purposes of this article:
(1) A transfer is
made:
(A) With respect to an asset that is real
property other than a fixture, but including the interest of a seller or
purchaser under a contract for the sale of the asset, when the transfer is so
far perfected that a good faith purchaser of the asset from the debtor against
whom applicable law permits the transfer to be perfected cannot acquire an
interest in the asset that is superior to the interest of the transferee;
and
(B) With respect to an asset that is not real
property or that is a fixture, when the transfer is so far perfected that a
creditor on a simple contract cannot acquire a judicial lien otherwise than
under this article that is superior to the interest of the
transferee;
(2) If applicable law permits the transfer
to be perfected as provided in paragraph (1) of this Code section and the
transfer is not so perfected before the commencement of an action for relief
under this article, the transfer is deemed made immediately before the
commencement of the action;
(3) If applicable law does
not permit the transfer to be perfected as provided in paragraph (1) of this
Code section, the transfer is made when it becomes effective between the debtor
and the transferee;
(4) A transfer is not made until
the debtor has acquired rights in the asset transferred;
and
(5) An obligation is
incurred:
(A) If oral, when it becomes effective
between the parties; or
(B) If evidenced by a writing,
when the writing executed by the obligor is delivered to or for the benefit of
the obligee.
18-2-77.
(a)
In an action for relief against a transfer or obligation under this article, a
creditor, subject to the limitations in Code Section 18-2-78, may
obtain:
(1) Avoidance of the transfer or obligation to
the extent necessary to satisfy the
creditor´s
claim;
(2) An attachment or other provisional remedy
against the asset transferred or other property of the transferee in accordance
with the procedure prescribed by Chapter 3 of this
title;
(3) Subject to applicable principles of equity
and in accordance with applicable rules of civil
procedure:
(A) An injunction against further
disposition by the debtor or a transferee, or both, of the asset transferred or
of other property;
(B) Appointment of a receiver to
take charge of the asset transferred or of other property of the transferee;
or
(C) Any other relief the circumstances may
require.
(b) If a creditor has obtained a judgment on
a claim against the debtor, the creditor, if the court so orders, may levy
execution on the asset transferred or its proceeds.
18-2-78.
(a) A transfer
or obligation is not voidable under paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of Code
Section 18-2-74 against a person who took in good faith and for a reasonably
equivalent value or against any subsequent transferee or
obligee.
(b) Except as otherwise provided in this Code
section, to the extent a transfer is voidable in an action by a creditor under
paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of Code Section 18-2-77, the creditor may
recover judgment for the value of the asset transferred, as adjusted under
subsection (c) of this Code section, or the amount necessary to satisfy the
creditor´s
claim, whichever is less. The judgment may be entered
against:
(1) The first transferee of the asset or the
person for whose benefit the transfer was made; or
(2)
Any subsequent transferee other than a good faith transferee or obligee who took
for value or from any subsequent transferee or
obligee.
(c) If the judgment under subsection (b) of
this Code section is based upon the value of the asset transferred, the judgment
must be for an amount equal to the value of the asset at the time of the
transfer, subject to adjustment as the equities may
require.
(d) Notwithstanding voidability of a transfer
or an obligation under this article, a good faith transferee or obligee is
entitled, to the extent of the value given the debtor for the transfer or
obligation, to:
(1) A lien on or a right to retain any
interest in the asset transferred;
(2) Enforcement of
any obligation incurred; or
(3) A reduction in the
amount of the liability on the judgment.
(e) A
transfer is not voidable under paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of Code Section
18-2-74 or Code Section 18-2-75 if the transfer results
from:
(1) Termination of a lease upon default by the
debtor when the termination is pursuant to the lease and applicable law;
or
(2) Enforcement of a security interest in
compliance with Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial
Code.
(f) A transfer is not voidable under subsection
(b) of Code Section 18-2-75:
(1) To the extent the
insider gave new value to or for the benefit of the debtor after the transfer
was made unless the new value was secured by a valid
lien;
(2) If made in the ordinary course of business
or financial affairs of the debtor and the insider;
or
(3) If made pursuant to a good faith effort to
rehabilitate the debtor and the transfer secured the present value given for
that purpose as well as an antecedent debt of the
debtor.
18-2-79.
A cause
of action with respect to a fraudulent transfer or obligation under this article
is extinguished unless action is brought:
(1) Under
paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of Code Section 18-2-74, within four years after
the transfer was made or the obligation was incurred or, if later, within one
year after the transfer or obligation was or could reasonably have been
discovered by the claimant;
(2) Under paragraph (2) of
subsection (a) of Code Section 18-2-74 or subsection (a) of Code Section
18-2-75, within four years after the transfer was made or the obligation was
incurred; or
(3) Under subsection (b) of Code Section
18-2-75, within one year after the transfer was made or the obligation was
incurred.
18-2-80.
(a)
Unless displaced by the provisions of this article, the principles of law and
equity, including the law merchant and the law relating to principal and agent,
estoppel, laches, fraud, misrepresentation, duress, coercion, mistake,
insolvency, or other validating or invalidating cause, supplement its
provisions.
(b) The provisions of this article do not
create a cause of action for a governmental entity or its agent or assignee with
respect to a transaction which may otherwise constitute a fraudulent transfer or
obligation under this article if the transaction complies with the applicable
state and federal laws concerning transfers of property in the determination of
eligibility for public benefits.
SECTION 4.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are
repealed.