Tolling Agreement
(GA)

Summary

This Tolling Agreement template is applicable to existing claims for Georgia state court civil matters. This template includes practical guidance, drafting notes, and alternate and optional clauses. The purpose of a tolling agreement is to suspend or "toll" the applicable statute of limitations period for disputed matters for a specified time. A tolling agreement does not imply liability or guarantee settlement. Rather, it gives both parties the opportunity to gather more evidence and explore potential settlement to avoid the time and expense of litigation. A tolling agreement may also implicate risks, such as evidence availability or witness recollection. It is important to balance the risks and benefits of any tolling agreement, considering the potential for saving legal costs against the risk of weakened claims. A statute of limitations prescribes the time period when a cause of action must be brought. In Georgia, parties may generally alter the time within which legal claims may be brought. While a statute of limitations prescribes a timeline by which a lawsuit can be filed, a statute of repose sets a firm deadline by which a lawsuit can be filed based on the mere passage of time or an occurrence of a certain event. Thus, consideration should also be given to any applicable statute of repose before entering into a Tolling Agreement. For more information on deadlines in litigation, see Computing Time in Litigation (GA) and Extending Time in Litigation (GA). For a related chart, see Deadlines in Civil Litigation Chart (GA).