Inside Georgia's Abandoned Motor Vehicle Act

Many states have laws that provide "super liens" to facilities that tow, repair, and store vehicles. Georgia's current abandoned motor vehicle statute is an example of how these statutes can put the secured party financing source's lien in jeopardy.

In April 2019, the Georgia Legislature passed the current form of its Abandoned Motor Vehicle Act to provide "a comprehensive and streamlined process" for these facilities to recover their costs and remove a vehicle that has been abandoned and unclaimed. In practice, the Act provides facilities with a channel to extinguish prior-existing, perfected lienholders. The Act's stated intent is to balance the rights of these facilities with those of the motor vehicle owner and the lienholder. However, financial institutions may doubt whether the rights of lienholders were even considered.