Georgia Gov. Kemp Signs Sweeping Tort Reform Legislation into Law

Atlanta, Ga. (May 6, 2025) - On April 22, 2025, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed into law Senate Bills 68 and 69 (collectively dubbed the “Comprehensive Tort Reform Legislation”), with the aim of curbing lawsuit abuse and the explosion of outsized nuclear verdicts in the state’s courts. This landmark legislation, which was widely supported by Georgia’s business community, makes a host of changes to Georgia law in the areas of civil practice, evidentiary matters, damages, and liability in tort actions.

Below is a summary of key changes made by the law.

Anchoring

Plaintiffs’ attorneys can no longer arbitrarily argue the monetary value of non-economic damages (such as pain and suffering) during the closing arguments of a trial. Instead, the new law requires that their arguments concerning non-economic damages be related to actual evidence. Moreover, if the plaintiff's attorney suggests a number, they must do so in their initial closing and cannot change it in rebuttal closing. However, the law does not impose a cap on the total amount of damages a jury can award.

Motion to Dismiss & Discovery Stay

Under the new law, a defendant need not file an answer to a complaint alongside a motion to dismiss. Discovery will be stayed automatically after briefing on the motion to dismiss until the court rules upon the motion. If the court does not rule on the motion to dismiss within that 90-day window, a party can ask for the stay to be terminated or altered. If an answer is filed within the 90-day stay, then the discovery stay automatically terminates. Once the court rules on the motion, the defendant will have 15 days to file an answer to the complaint (if the motion is denied).

From a practical standpoint, this means the defendant will not have to incur discovery-related attorneys’ fees during the pendency of the stay. This could lead to significant savings if the defendant’s motion to dismiss is granted.

Permissive Dismissal

Prior to the new law, plaintiffs were able to dismiss their lawsuits without prejudice right up until the swearing-in of the first witness at trial. Now, a plaintiff must dismiss their case within 60 days after the defendant files an answer to have the opportunity to refile. Per Gov. Kemp’s press release, this reform was designed to end the practice of plaintiffs dismissing their cases just to refile and “‘cherry pick’ a more favorable jurisdiction after the defense has already racked up the cost of preparing and beginning the trial.”

Attorneys’ Fees

The new law closes a misused loophole that some plaintiffs had used to obtain a double recovery of attorneys’ fees.

Safety Belts

Defendants can now introduce evidence of a plaintiff’s non-use of their seatbelt, subject to a probative value analysis. Such evidence can help defense counsel mitigate damages, particularly where the plaintiff’s failure to wear their seatbelt led to significantly worse injuries.

Negligent Security

The new law makes a series of changes that are designed to limit property owners’ or managers’ liability to invitees/tenants for crimes committed by third parties.

The plaintiff’s counsel must now prove that the property owner or manager had actual knowledge that a third party is likely to engage in wrongful conduct (within a reasonable period of time) that is likely to harm to invitees/tenants. This change appears to be aimed at eliminating the “totality of the circumstances” standard, which takes into account all prior criminal incidents that occurred on or adjacent to the subject property – including incidents that are unlike the one that gave rise to the lawsuit.

To that end, the new law further defines what constitutes substantially similar conduct/crime is further defined. Under this guidance, plaintiff’s counsel can no longer point to property crimes or car theft to establish foreseeability for violent crime.

In addition, the new law requires juries in negligent security cases to apportion fault among the property owner or occupier, the perpetrators of the crime, the security company, and any other parties who may be responsible for the incident. Significantly, a security company cannot be apportioned a greater share of fault than the property owner.

Phantom Damages

Evidence of the amount an insurer actually paid for a plaintiff’s medical expenses is now admissible, not just the amount billed. As Gov. Kemp’s press release put it, this allows jurors to determine “the reasonable value of the plaintiff’s past medical care with full transparency into the billed and paid value of their treatment.”

Bifurcation/Trifurcation of Trials

Under the new law, a party can move to bifurcate trial, so that the defendant’s liability of fault and damages (if any) are considered in separate trials. If punitive damages are also potentially on the table, a party can move to trifurcate trial into three phases: liability, damages, and punitive damages.

For more information about this decision, contact the authors or editor of this alert. Visit our General Liability Practice page to learn more about our capabilities in this area.