To read all of JAMES Magazine Online’s daily news, SUBSCRIBE HERE. *Subscription includes a complimentary subscription to JAMES Magazine.

For more than a decade, Georgia has held on to the title of “Best State in the Country to Do Business.” But in 2022 and 2023, Georgia has earned another title that isn’t one to brag about and has caught the attention of Georgia’s lawmakers, including Gov. Brian Kemp. For the second year in a row, Georgia topped the American Tort Reform Association’s list of the country’s “Judicial Hellholes.”

While this was the second year in a row for Georgia, this time it was a split title with Pennsylvania’s courts – due to what the ATRA calls an environment of lawsuit abuse and excessive tort costs.

Kemp addressed the need for tort reform early last year and listed it as one of his priorities prior to the 2024 legislative session – making “tort reform” a buzz word around the Capitol. While only one bill addressing tort reform actually passed last session — many expect tort reform to be among the top issues lawmakers take on in 2025, if not the top issue.

Late last week, the Georgia Public Policy Foundation (GPPF) – a public policy think tank – published a report “Tort reform and Georgia’s judicial nightmare” which highlights the need for tort reform in Georgia.

The analysis points out that Georgia lawmakers took one step in tort reform last year with the passage and signing of Senate Bill 426. The bill limits the ability of plaintiffs to sue motor carriers and their insurers simultaneously (so-called “direct action”) and was applauded by Lt. Gov. Burt Jones.

“The passage of this legislation was desperately needed in order to get Georgia’s business community the relief it needs,” said Jones. “Thanks to the Senate’s passage of Senate Bill 426, we are making legitimate strides to level the playing field when a case reaches the courtroom.

The analysis by GPPF says, “while liability litigation is not categorically frivolous, the need for tort reform typically highlights cases that are: such as when plaintiffs and their trial attorneys are awarded damages for frivolous or predatory lawsuits. An important takeaway from tort reform efforts is that these kinds of lawsuits have real negative economic consequences for the industries they come across. For example, medical malpractice litigation not only adds to the cost of healthcare, it can reduce access to and quality of care as well. Indeed across all fields, liability litigation discourages innovation.”

The analysis also states that “Opponents of tort reform argue that reducing the ability to sue for liability or reducing compensation increases risk on the part of consumers. However, this position is based on incomplete and inaccurate assumptions.”

In the analysis, GPPF points to a 2022 report in which the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform calculated the cost of the American tort system. Tort costs amounted to $443 billion, or 2.1 percent of the U.S. GDP. This includes $229 billion in general and commercial liabilities, $196.5 billion in automobile accident claims and $17.5 billion in medical liability claims; these rates have increased over the years.”

The analysis says Georgia earned its distinction as a “judicial hellhole” in part as a result of “the infamous Gwinnett County case in which a client was awarded a stupefying $1.7 billion in a case against Ford Motor Company that ARTA notes was ‘riddled with ethically questionable events and severely biased court orders.’”

It goes on to say that “2023 saw a continuation of ‘nuclear verdicts’ and their subsequent economic impacts. Estimates again show the cost of tort is passed down to citizens, both in the form of job losses and a ‘tort tax’ of $1,213.80 a year. ARTA asserts that Georgia could increase its gross product by $13.1 billion by reforming lawsuit abuse.”

The report also points out that Georgia trial lawyers are quite aware of their environment; they spent $84.29 million on advertisements in the state.

In 2023, the Georgia Senate took aim at “direct action” – a plaintiff’s ability to sue motor carriers and their insurers at the same time – but the Trucking Opportunity Act of 2023 didn’t pass out of the Senate.

GPPF goes on to say, “The costs of tort litigation, and where the burden of those costs fall, should inform future analysis and reform efforts. Hopefully, that will be the case in Georgia, where the need for reform is apparent.”