In 2025, Georgia has an opportunity to achieve landmark legal reforms that will address longstanding flaws in the state’s legal system, making it fairer for consumers and businesses and bolstering growth and prosperity for the future.
Governor Brian P. Kemp underlined the urgency of getting legal reform done in his 2025 State of the State address, when he said “It’s abundantly clear that the status quo isn’t working and a failure to act on meaningful tort reform will continue to put Georgians and their livelihoods in serious jeopardy.”
Among the reforms that Governor Kemp is advocating, and that are detailed in this research paper, are measures that would:
- Address excessive liability in negligent security: right-size the liability that premises owners face when unrelated third parties commit wrongful acts on their property.
- Bifurcate trials: making trials fairer by splitting them up, so that liability is established before the jury assesses the extent of the damages.
- Bring transparency to litigation funding: remove secrecy and establish safeguards for when hedge funds and other financiers invest in one side of a lawsuit in exchange for a piece of any award or judgment.
- Eliminate anchoring: protect jurors’ ability to decide on award amounts on their own, without being influenced by irrelevant and improper arguments from lawyers.
- Improve efficiency in seeking dismissal: cut down on red tape and expenses for defendants seeking to dismiss baseless lawsuits.
- Make seatbelt use admissible: update a decades-old Georgia law and allow defendants in auto accident cases to mention whether or not the plaintiff was wearing a seatbelt.
- Mandate truth in medical damages: ensure plaintiffs are fairly compensated based on the amount actually paid for reasonable and necessary medical care.
- Prohibit lawyers double-dipping on fees: close a loophole in Georgia law allowing plaintiffs’ lawyers to collect attorney’s fees twice for certain kinds of lawsuits.
- Stop abusive venue shopping: prevent plaintiffs’ lawyers from dismissing their own cases at will before the trial stage and refiling in a “friendlier” court if things aren’t going their way.
