ATLANTA – The signs are clear as Georgia lawmakers prepare to resume the 2025 General Assembly session on Monday after a weeklong recess: Gov. Brian Kemp is making tort reform a high priority.
Even before the session began two weeks ago, Kemp issued a call for tort reform in a speech to newly elected and returning legislators in a December speech at the University of Georgia.
He returned to the theme Jan. 14 in his annual address to political and business leaders at the Eggs and Issues breakfast sponsored by the Georgia Chamber of Commerce.
Two days later, Kemp devoted a major portion of his State of the State message to a joint session of the Georgia House and Senate to the need for tort reform.
“One of the biggest threats to Georgia’s future is our state’s legal environment,” he said. “The cost of insurance is threatening (small businesses’) ability to operate. … At the end of the day, the increased cost of doing business is simply passed on to the consumer, hardworking Georgians who are already struggling to make ends meet.”
Tort reform has been a goal of Georgia Republicans and their allies in the business community for decades. But most of their efforts have fizzed amid opposition from legislative Democrats and the trial lawyers lobby worried that imposing restrictions on lawsuits would rob victims in liability cases of their day in court.
The most significant reform legislation to make it through the General Assembly came way back in 2005, a bill that imposed a $350,000 cap on non-economic damage awards in liability lawsuits.
The cap immediately came under fire in a constitutional challenge. The Georgia Supreme Court sided with the plaintiffs and threw out the cap in 2010.
The General Assembly passed a Kemp-backed bill last year that laid the groundwork for a big push for tort reform in 2025. The legislation directed the state insurance department to gather data on legal trends affecting insurance premiums and deliver a report.
While Kemp has not yet released details on what his tort reform legislation will look like, the report – released in November – includes recommendations that could find their way into this year’s bill.
The report found that the number of tort claims in Georgia increased steadily between 2014 and 2023, while the average claim payout also has risen. Cases where the plaintiff retained a lawyer paid out 66.2% higher on average than claims where no lawyer was involved, according to the study.
The study pointed to a number of steps the General Assembly could take to rein in “runaway” jury awards in tort cases, including limiting liability property owners face from plaintiffs injured on their premises due to actions of third parties, restricting the use of third-party litigation financing, and limiting so-called “venue shopping” by plaintiffs looking for a favorable jurisdiction for filing a lawsuit.
The report even suggested revisiting caps on non-economic damage awards such as pain and suffering as a way to curb “nuclear verdicts” – those exceeding $10 million.
Accolades for Kemp’s stand on tort reform poured in following his State of the State speech, with representatives of Georgia retailers, restaurants, and convenience stores endorsing his position. The Georgia Senior Living Association also chimed in, arguing that runaway damage awards have driven up insurance premiums to the point that providers are having a hard time staying in business.
“Georgia’s imbalanced civil justice system threatens Georgia’s economic competitiveness and our long-term prosperity,” said Chris Clark, the Georgia Chamber’s president and CEO.
“Georgia’s litigation environment is among the most costly and unpredictable in the nation, contributing to rising insurance premiums for businesses and families alike,” added Will Barnette, chairman of the advocacy group Georgians for Lawsuit Reform and associate general counsel at The Home Depot. “These legal burdens stifle economic growth, discourage investment, and create barriers to job creation.”
But legislative Democrats say the state’s civil justice system is the wrong target for the vitriol aimed by Republicans and business leaders.
“The problem isn’t lawsuits. It’s the insurance companies themselves,” said state Rep. Tanya Miller, D-Atlanta, who chairs the House Minority Caucus. “Rather than holding insurance companies accountable, Republicans are standing in defense of corporate Goliaths while everyday Georgians are left to fight for their homes, their businesses, and their dignity.”
State Sen. Josh McLaurin, D-Sandy Springs, warned Republicans that pushing tort reform could cost them politically because it’s not an appealing message to GOP base voters.
“I can assure you, they have more of a problem with insurance companies than they do with trial lawyers,” McLaurin said Jan. 17 on the floor of the Senate.
The prospects for meaningful tort reform legislation in 2025 are good. Kemp went so far during his State of the State address to suggest he would call a special session of the General Assembly later this year if lawmakers fail to act during the 40-day session that ends in early April.
With Republicans holding 100 of the House’s 180 seats and 33 of the Senate’s 56 seats, the GOP has more than enough votes to make it happen.