Thursday, surrounded by Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, Speaker Jon Burns, Insurance Commissioner John King, lawmakers and leaders from industries across Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp unveiled his tort reform package. Senate President Pro Tem John F. Kennedy, R-Macon, will carry the two bills for Kemp, which were expected to be filed late Thursday.
Kemp said this tort reform package levels the playing field in courtrooms, bans hostile foreign powers from taking advantage of consumers and legal proceedings, aims to stabilize insurance costs for businesses and consumers, increases transparency and fairness, and “ensures Georgia continues to be the best place to live, work, and raise a family.”
“Georgia needs tort reform, and they need it now,” said Kemp. “As I said in my State of the State address earlier this month, our legal environment is draining family bank accounts and hurting job creators of all sizes in nearly every industry in our state. After months of listening to our citizens, businesses, and stakeholders across the spectrum, it is clear the status quo is unacceptable, unsustainable, and jeopardizes our state’s prosperity in the years to come. This tort reform package protects the rights of all Georgians to have access to our civil justice system and ensures that those who have been wronged receive justice and are made whole.”
Kemp referred to the package of legislation as a “comprehensive and commonsense package,” adding that he planned to achieve meaningful progress on this important issue during this legislative session as opposed to one later this year.
Highlights of policy areas addressed by the legislation:
● Reevaluates the Standard for Negligent Security Liability (“Premises Liability”): Ensures businesses should only be liable for what they directly control. If signed into law, the legislation would hold property owners liable for failures to keep their property safe for their customers and the public but protect establishments for simply “opening their doors and employing Georgians.”
● Truthful Calculation of Medical Damages in Personal Injury Cases (“Phantom Damages”): Requires the plaintiff to only seek damages in the amount actually paid (or will be paid in the future) for a medical bill
● Eliminates the Ability to Arbitrarily Anchor Pain and Suffering Damages to a Jury (“Anchoring) by attorneys in closing arguments so the jury can use their own discretion—rather than artificial benchmarks like the cost of fighter jets, or the number of miles a truck drove, or the salary of a professional athlete. This bill does not place any limit on the jury’s discretion.
● Bifurcated Trials: Permits a party in a case to move for bifurcation of the trial, so that liability must be established before the jury hears evidence detailing the extent of the plaintiff’s damages.
● Allow a Jury to Know Whether the Plaintiff Wore Their Seatbelt (“Admissible Seatbelt Evidence)
● Eliminate Double Recovery of Attorney’s Fees: Courts will remain able to award attorney fees—but only once.
● Eliminate Plaintiff Dismissal During Trial: Amends the timeline for voluntary dismissals.
● Motion to Dismiss Timing Changes: Changes the civil practice act to allow a defendant to file a motion to dismiss in lieu of an answer.
● Reforming and Bringing Transparency to Third Party Litigation Funding:
○ Bans hostile foreign adversaries from using the litigation climate to undermine vital security and economic interests
○ Protects consumers from predatory lenders by prohibiting litigation funders from having any input into the litigation strategy or from taking the plaintiff’s whole recovery and making sure plaintiffs are aware of their rights.
○ Increases transparency for all parties
