Georgia 
Governor Brian Kemp Unveils Tort Reform Plan to Improve Legal Transparency
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp Unveils Tort Reform Plan to Improve Legal Transparency
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp has introduced a new tort reform plan aimed at improving transparency in the state’s legal system. The proposal focuses on reducing litigation costs and ensuring fairer outcomes for all parties involved.
Key points of the bill include:
- Negligent Security Liability: Businesses will only be responsible for factors they can control directly.
- Medical Expense Damages: Plaintiffs will be limited to claiming only the actual costs of medical expenses, not inflated amounts.
- Preventing Anchoring Tactics: The bill will stop attorneys from asking for an excessively large reward to set a baseline for jury calculations.
- Bifurcated Trials: This approach ensures that liability is decided before evidence about damages is presented, providing a fairer process for both sides.
- Reforming Third-Party Litigation Funding: The bill includes rules to prevent foreign countries from influencing U.S. lawsuits and ensures that litigation funders cannot control case strategy or take too much of the plaintiff’s award.
- Seatbelt Evidence in Car Accidents: The proposed reform will allow juries to know whether a plaintiff was wearing a seatbelt during an automobile accident.
- Preventing Double Recovery of Attorney Fees: The bill eliminates the practice of plaintiffs dismissing and refiling cases in different jurisdictions to gain an advantage.
- Allowing Defense Attorneys to File Dismissals: Defense lawyers can file motions to dismiss, reducing unnecessary costs during the litigation process.
The American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA) supports the reform, highlighting how litigation abuse has driven up insurance costs and impacted Georgia consumers and businesses. They praised the Governor’s efforts and look forward to working with the legislature to pass the reforms.
