ATLANTA (Legal Newsline) - Georgia lawmakers are one step closer to addressing their state courts system's reputation as unfair to defendants, as a tort reform measure awaits approval by the House.
Senators passed the bill Feb. 21 with a 33-21 vote, sending it to the House of Representatives. Republicans generally favor tort reform more than Democrats, and the GOP has a 100-80 majority in the House. Georgia's governor, Brian Kemp, announced the legislation in January.
Blockbuster verdicts in the state have earned it a spot on the American Tort Reform Association's "Judicial Hellholes" list in recent years.
“We appreciate Gov. Kemp’s diligent pursuit of lawsuit reform in his state through various roundtable meetings with stakeholders and collaboration with lawmakers,” ATRA president Tiger Joyce said.
Georgia juries have a particular disdain for Ford Motor Company, which was hit with a $1.7 billion verdict in 2022 and a $2.5 billion verdict this month.
Help from the tort reform bill would allow defendants like Ford to introduce evidence that plaintiffs weren't wearing their seatbelts. Ford was only able to tell jurors that there were functioning seatbelts in the F-250 that rolled over in a crash that killed Melvin and Voncile Hill in 2014.
It was alleged a defective roof killed the couple - the same allegation in this year's $2.5 billion verdict. Not wearing a seatbelt will not be considered evidence of negligence or causation, the state's current law says.
The Senate passed changes to the seatbelt law last year but the bill died in a House committee.
Other changes in this year's tort-reform package target "phantom damages" and "jury anchoring."
"(O)ur legal environment is draining family bank accounts and hurting job creators of all sizes in nearly every industry in our state," Kemp said in January.
"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."
Phantom damages are awarded for inflated medical bills introduced in evidence, Kemp said. ATRA notes courts base their awards on these billed amounts rather than real payments.
Forbidding jury anchoring would keep plaintiffs lawyers from tossing out the idea of a large verdict during closing arguments.
Other proposals from Kemp, including transparency in third-party litigation funding, can be viewed here.