Georgia is my home. I moved here after college, and I help lead our family’s business, Park Place. It is formally known as Parking Company of America, which was founded in Georgia 50 years ago and is now one of the largest privately held parking companies in the United States.
Susana Chavez
Yet here we are, a legacy company that has survived so much — from cyclical business downturns to a global pandemic — debating daily whether we can even afford to continue to do business in my home state.
Out-of-control lawsuit abuse in Georgia is an open secret. Park Place is among the thousands of Georgia businesses paying the price for this abuse. Our Georgia insurance costs have skyrocketed since 2022, going from $500,000 annually to $1.5 million — as the risk of frivolous lawsuits continues to plague our family’s business. In real numbers, that is $1 million that comes right out of our bottom line in Georgia. This is simply not happening in the nine other states where our family business operates where we see 3% to 5% annual increases, the norm in industry. It raises the question, “Why is Georgia an outlier?”
We want to be here. We have more than 125 employees in Georgia who depend on our company. We’re proud to have a thriving business in Georgia, which for the past 10 years has been named the No. 1 state to do business.
Yet frivolous lawsuits are a huge pain point, and that additional $1 million in insurance costs is not pocket change for us. It’s money we can’t invest in our business and money we can’t reinvest in our community.
It is time for Georgia lawmakers to address our state’s out-of-balance legal system and rein in frivolous lawsuits that hurt everyday Georgians and local businesses and threatens our state’s economy. It is undeniable that Georgia’s broken legal system impacts us all.
Gov. Brian Kemp’s legal system abuse reform package represents the most comprehensive reform attempt by state lawmakers in the past 20 years. If the reform measures become law, they will address a range of critical issues that have led to Georgia’s notoriously bad legal climate.
This is not about avoiding responsibility. If we’re responsible, we do the right thing. That’s part of our culture and we hold ourselves to high standards and high accountability. But lawsuit abuse allows for disproportionate awards that raise costs for everyone. Higher costs from lawsuit abuse affects more than just our business. These costs are ultimately a burden on all Georgians.
Now is the time to reform the legal system to minimize lawsuit abuse, and the governor’s tort reform package is the best opportunity for lawmakers to make that happen.
Susana Chavez is executive vice president of Park Place, a parking solutions company that is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Park Place operates 54 parking facilities in Atlanta.
