A legal climate that breeds runaway litigation is costing every Georgia resident more than $1,000 a year, said American Tort Reform (ATRA) president Sherman "Tiger" Joyce, who ranked the “archaic” seatbelt gag ruling high among the factors behind out of control lawsuits in the state.
In an interview with GA News Gazette, Joyce underscored the need to wipe off the books a gag order that makes seatbelt use, or neglect, so hush-hush that juries are kept in the dark as they contemplate major awards— like $1.7 billion in damages against Ford Motor Company.
“Georgia's dubious distinction as the nation's No. 1 Judicial Hellhole underscores the urgent need for tort reform in the state,” said Joyce. “Our latest Judicial Hellholes report (released in December) highlights Georgia's crisis of excessive litigation, with courts continuing to issue nuclear verdicts exceeding $10 million.”
The pressure is on to eradicate the seatbelt gag rule, which ATRA condemns as one of its top reasons for ranking the state as the nation’s No. 1 “Judicial Hellhole."
Each resident is paying a staggering cost for lawsuit abuse, not only financially but in terms of employment, Joyce said. Striking a potential blow to household budgets, he said, “residents pay a $1,372 annual 'tort tax' due to excessive tort costs, which cost the state more than 137,000 jobs each year. Lawsuit abuse wipes out billions in economic activity annually in Georgia.”
Although not alone in contributing to unbridled lawsuits, the seatbelt gag rule bears a major responsibility, according to Joyce. With reference to ATRA’s report, he said, withholding seatbelt facts “prevents jurors from considering whether an injured person wore or misused a seatbelt when determining fault, distorting liability for automakers and parties to litigation arising out of an accident.” Additionally, Georgia stands out for the practice of "anchoring," which lets attorneys suggest an exorbitant award for noneconomic damages with the potential of influencing jurors.
The result of the seatbelt gag rule, according to Joyce, is “an unbalanced system which contributed significantly to 2022’s record-setting $1.7 billion verdict against Ford.” It was that Gwinnett County jury award, involving a F-250 that rolled over and killed a married Georgia couple in 2014, that propelled the state to the top of the Judicial Hellholes list, he said. The case challenged the structural integrity of the Ford’s roof, but again all was mum on the matter of seatbelts.
And this case wasn't Ford’s only hit. In Domingue v. Ford Motor Company, the U.S. District Court refused to let the defense broach an injured Georgia woman’s failure to wear a seatbelt in a 2020 crash. Restricting such testimony is in accordance with a law enacted by the Georgia General Assembly in 1988, but it curtailed Ford's defense in a lawsuit over a non-activating airbag. According to a March 27 report in Legal Newsline, “The Georgia Supreme Court, however, wouldn't let Ford mention it - not in motions submitted to the trial judge or even a jury, had a trial occurred.”
In addition to crowning the Peach State with thorns for its legal climate—with that Judicial Hellhole designation two years in a row, both in 2022 and 2023, ATRA offered some suggestions. “While the recent passage of time limit demand reform was an important step in the right direction, we urge Georgia's leaders to go further to address lawsuit abuse broadly and civil justice deficiencies that earned the state its unfortunate distinction as the No. 1 Judicial Hellhole,” said Joyce.
The report acknowledges there is backing to even the playing field in court from Governor Brian Kemp, who has set civil justice reform as a top priority for 2024. Applauded in a Legal Newsline opinion piece on March 26, Republican-sponsored Senate Bill 547 proposed amending the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (OCGA) to provide for "the failure to wear a safety belt or safety restraints for children as admissible evidence in civil actions." The bill won unanimous approval from the Senate in Feb. 29 but saw no action from the House.
Greater success was realized with House Bill 1114, an attempt to rein in frivolous and excessive tort litigation by amending the OCGA to enact the “Data Analysis for Tort Reform Act." The bill landed on the governor's desk April 2 with approval from both the House and Senate. Its goal is to kick off data collection by Georgia’s Department of Insurance as the foundation for effective reform to benefit all residents, with an initial report due by Nov. 1.
Another legal reform measure is still in the works with SB 428, designed to set “a cap on damages recoverable against foster parents in personal injury actions involving the use of a motor vehicle by a child.” The bill has moved on to the Senate Judiciary Committee after its January introduction, according to LegiScan.
Whatever action comes next for Georgia must be substantial to warrant its removal from the Judicial Hellhole list. “Comprehensive tort reform measures should be a top priority in 2025 to restore balance and fairness to Georgia's legal climate,” Joyce said.
Joyce did not comment on how rampant lawsuits may be impacting Georgia’s auto insurance rates, which rank as some of the costliest in the nation, according to Bankrate. The consumer financial services company said that Atlanta drivers shell out an average of $2,802 for full coverage, which exceeds both state and national averages—a factor influenced by rising class action lawsuits, Legal Newsline reported on Feb. 21. As per the same article, MarketWatch reports that car insurance rates soared more in Georgia than in 30 other states between 2022 and 2023 with a 22% spike in full coverage auto insurance during this time frame.