Georgia Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John King stated on August 22 that Georgia needs to enact tort reform measures to address "lawsuit abuse" in order to maintain its competitive business environment.
"I really appreciate the work from Governor Kemp, Lt. Governor Jones, Speaker Burns, and all members of the General Assembly for helping us move the ball forward last session," said King. "Lawsuit abuse reform is needed to ensure Georgia and its citizens stay in the forefront of states to do business."
King’s statement followed Georgia Governor Brian Kemp's first small business roundtable of his listening tour across the state, according to a press release. The goal of the listening tour is for state leadership to hear from members of the business community and other stakeholders about the impacts of civil litigation policies. The three roundtable sessions will shape policy proposals during the next legislative session.
According to a report from the Insurance Information Institute (III), high litigation costs from factors such as increasingly large jury awards are driving up Georgia’s car insurance costs. "Simply put, skyrocketing legal costs play a key role in social inflation," the report said. "These costs accumulate from the increasing number of lawsuit filings, extended litigation, and outsized jury awards."
Tort reform measures enacted in Florida have helped reduce the number of nuclear verdicts, or verdicts larger than $10 million, in the state, according to a report from Marathon Strategies. From 2009 to 2022, Florida had the second largest sum of nuclear verdicts out of any state in the country but dropped to seventh place in 2023 thanks to tort reform measures signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis.
One legislative reform DeSantis signed into law last year was HB 837, which was intended to reduce the number of "frivolous" lawsuits in the state and prevent trial attorneys from engaging in "predatory practices," according to a press release from the governor's office. The bill enacted tort reform measures including clarifying that negligence alone does not constitute "bad faith," eliminating attorneys’ fee multipliers, and establishing uniform standards to assist juries in calculating accurate medical damages. DeSantis said at the time, "I am proud to sign this legislation to protect Floridians, safeguard our economy and attract more investment in our state."
King became Georgia’s Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner in July 2019, according to his website. He previously served in law enforcement as an Atlanta police officer and Chief of Police for the City of Doraville.