Vanishing Venue Doctrine Georgia OCGA 9-10-31

The doctrine of vanishing venue applies only when a resident defendant is "discharged from liability before or upon the return of a verdict by the jury or the court hearing the case without a jury." OCGA 9-10-31 (d). In Nalley v. Baldwin, 261 Ga. App. 713 (583 SE2d 544) (2003), the Court held "that the entry of a consent judgment is not a discharge from liability within the meaning of OCGA 9-10-31. ... The controlling fact which governs the retention of jurisdiction over the non-resident is the legal resolution of liability on the part of the resident." Id. at 714.