Georgia Governor Kemp signs tort reform bill into law

By Isha Marathe

April 21 - (The Insurer) – Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed both parts of the state's tort reform bill on Monday, SB 68 and SB 69, banning "anchoring," curtailing foreign adversaries from investing in litigation and drawing stricter parameters around the language plaintiffs can use to argue noneconomic damages in an effort to stabilize insurance costs in the state.

Insurers, trade groups and the defense bar have long seen Georgia as a hostile to businesses, with the state coming in fourth place on the "judicial hell-hole" 2024 list assembled by the American Tort Reform Foundation.

Bill proponents believed that the legislation would curb what they see as legal system abuse by plaintiffs, leading to outsized verdicts, drawn-out litigation and rising insurance premiums. Its opponents, however, have questioned whether cuts in litigation costs would in fact lead to insurers lowering premiums.

"Today is a victory for the people of our state who for too long were suffering the impacts of an out-of-balance legal environment," said Governor Kemp.

"While there was great passion on all sides of this issue... this collective effort and outpouring of support from Georgians of all backgrounds, Georgia continues to move in the right direction as we work to stabilize costs and compete for economic opportunities that will create good paying jobs for hardworking Georgians across our state."

The reform includes provisions to hold property owners accountable if they fail to keep their property safe for the public and requires plaintiffs to specify what an injured party actually paid for medical costs, after insurance, rather than focusing on the typically larger gross amount they were charged or billed.

Additionally, the bill eliminates double recovery for attorney fees, allows a defendant to file a motion to dismiss in lieu of an answer to cut down what the governor sees as "unnecessary discovery expenses while a motion to dismiss is pending," and disbars voluntary dismissal during a trial to end to the practice of plaintiffs dismissing a case to refile in a more favorable jurisdiction after the defense has already racked up the cost of preparing and beginning the trial.

The bill also removes a current exclusion from the Georgia evidence code that prevents the defendant from showing evidence that a plaintiff was not wearing their seatbelt in an auto accident, which changes the amount of damages.

The Georgia bill follows a similar roadmap to Florida's 2022 reforms, with South Carolina also drafting an omnibus legal reform bill, The Insurer reported in March.