Atlanta residents are grappling with a cost of living that exceeds the statewide average, compounded by increased expenses such as insurance. This surge in prices is attributed, in part, to a high number of "nuclear verdicts" in Georgia.
According to RentCafe, a provider of real estate market information, the cost of living for Atlanta's inhabitants is 10% higher than the statewide average. Other Georgian cities surpassing the state average include Peachtree City (+7%) and Marietta (+4%). RentCafe bases its cost of living calculations on the prices of various expenses such as housing, food, and utilities.
The American Tort Reform Foundation (ATRF) has designated Georgia as a "judicial hellhole" in one of its reports. The report suggests that abuse of Georgia’s legal system essentially imposes an additional tax on residents and wipes out billions of dollars in economic activity annually. According to this document, every Georgian resident pays an annual "tort tax" of $1,111 due to "lawsuit abuse and excessive tort costs." The ATRF report claims that plaintiffs’ attorneys are cognizant of Georgia courts’ "propensity for liability-expanding decisions" and launch extensive advertising campaigns to exploit this situation. From January to August 2022 alone, trial attorneys spent nearly $40 million on local television advertisements in Georgia.
The ATRF report underscored the high frequency of "nuclear verdicts" in Georgia - awards from lawsuits exceeding $10 million. It stated that "Georgia has been one of the most prolific producers of nuclear verdicts nationwide," with 53 nuclear verdicts recorded between 2010 and 2019. The report also noted that Georgia is among a handful of states with a statute specifically protecting a tactic employed by plaintiffs’ attorneys known as "anchoring," where lawyers "place an extremely high amount into jurors’ minds to start as a base dollar amount for a pain and suffering award." The report cited James Butler Jr., founding partner of Butler Prather LLP, as one Georgia-based plaintiffs’ attorney who has secured numerous nuclear verdicts of at least $100 million. Butler is known to contribute thousands of dollars to judicial campaigns across the state.
RentCafe, according to its website, provides data and reports related to the real estate market. Its information has been featured in renowned publications including The New York Times, Forbes, and Market Watch. RentCafe also offers consumers information about house and apartment listings.