On April 21, 2025, Governor Brian Kemp signed Georgia’s tort reform bill, Senate Bill 68, into law. Despite vocal opposition in the House from some Democrats, the bill passed the House with only minor substantive changes. This law’s passage could be a boon for defendants and Georgia businesses, but the impact of these changes remains to be seen.
As explained in our February 14 advisory, the provisions that will likely have the greatest impact on mass tort litigation are Section 1, which relates to “anchoring” damages, and Section 8, which relates to bifurcation.
Section 1: Changes Related to Arguments About Noneconomic Damages
- Arguments about noneconomic damages cannot reference values that have no rational relationship to the facts of the case.
- If counsel is entitled to a rebuttal closing argument, counsel may only reference the monetary value of noneconomic damages in that rebuttal if they referenced that monetary value in their initial closing argument.
- Counsel is entitled to ask prospective jurors during voir dire if they would be able to award no damages or damages above a specified amount if that question is supported by the evidence.
Section 8: Bifurcation of Liability and Damages Phases
- Any party may elect to bifurcate issues of fault and damages before the entry of the pre-trial order.
- The first phase of the trial shall determine fault and any percentages of fault.
- If fault is found, the second, compensatory damages phase will begin immediately with the same judge and same jury.
- There will be a third phase of the trial if punitive damages or attorneys’ fees issues need to be decided.
- In response to testimony in the House, the law now includes a carve-out that allows the courts to deny bifurcation if the plaintiff “was injured by an alleged sexual offense and would be likely to suffer serious psychological or emotional distress as a result of testifying more than once in a bifurcated proceeding” or if the amount in controversy is less than $150,000.
Additional Changes Effected Through SB 68
The new law also allows seat belt use (or lack thereof) to be admissible at trial (Section 5), made substantial revisions to the standard to be applied in negligent security cases (Section 6), and includes revisions that permit a jury to be presented with both the paid and billed amounts of medical charges when deciding the “reasonable value” of the care and treatment (Section 7).
The law also modifies Georgia civil procedure in a few additional ways in Sections 2 through 4.
- Section 2:
- A defendant is no longer required to answer the complaint at the same time it moves to dismiss.
- Discovery is stayed until the court rules on a motion to dismiss.
- If the court has not ruled on a motion to dismiss within 90 days, the court may terminate or modify the stay upon “good cause shown.”
- Section 3: The plaintiff can only voluntarily dismiss a case once, without prejudice, 60 days after an answer is filed.
- Section 4: No party shall recover the same attorneys’ fees under multiple statutes unless the statute specifically authorizes the recovery of duplicative attorneys’ fees.
Final Thoughts
SB 68 was one of the most hotly contested pieces of legislation that Georgia has seen in recent years. Yet despite its vocal opposition, the bill made it through the General Assembly relatively unscathed. Georgians should anticipate attempts by these vocal opponents to limit or even nullify portions of the new law in future legislative sessions. For example, we might see significant pushback on the bifurcation procedure, with plaintiffs’ attorneys seeking to enlarge the carve-out that permits a judge to deny bifurcation. Specifically, plaintiffs’ counsel may seek to persuade legislators that this provision should apply to more than just victims of sexual violence and instead to anyone who might “suffer serious psychological or emotional distress as a result of testifying more than once.”
It will be interesting to see how courts and litigants wrestle with these new laws in the coming months. All sections except for Section 6 (premises liability) and Section 7 (medical expenses) are effective immediately, and those two sections are effective immediately for new (but not pending) causes of action. Particularly, it will be interesting to see how parties in the middle of trial handle the new provision on anchoring and how trial courts handle bifurcation in upcoming trials.
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If you have any questions, or would like additional information, please contact one of the attorneys on our Industrials & Manufacturing team or one of the attorneys on our Products Liability team.