The Playbook Next Door: Turning the Page on Georgia’s Litigation Reputation
Georgia had a bad reputation when it came to their civil justice system, often thought of as “Exhibit A” for what unpredictability can do to a state’s economy. Nuclear verdicts, rising insurance costs and a legal climate that gave businesses real pause before investing were all issues that plagued the state. On April 21, 2025, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed Senate Bills 68 and 69 into law. This was the first major tort reform in the state in two decades and the most comprehensive overhaul of its civil litigation framework in a generation.
Key elements of Georgia’s package included:
- Requiring truth in medical damages. Also referred to as “phantom damages”, the reform allows defendants to introduce evidence of what was actually paid for a plaintiff’s medical treatment, rather than only the full, inflated amount originally billed by providers.
- A higher bar for premises liability claims. Businesses are no longer held to an “extraordinary care” standard for third-party crimes on their property. Instead, plaintiffs must show the harm was a reasonably foreseeable result of a known, exploited condition, and that the owner failed to use ordinary care.
- Transparency on litigation funding. A companion measure introduced new disclosure requirements for third-party litigation funding and banned foreign investment in lawsuits, so courts and all parties know when outside investors are quietly financing a lawsuit.
- Admissibility of seatbelt evidence. The reform also reversed a longstanding rule, allowing evidence of seatbelt non-use to be presented to a jury.
Notably, the legislation passed the Georgia Senate unanimously before narrowly clearing the House, proof that lawsuit reform, when built on solid data and a clear economic case, can win broad, bipartisan support.
Early Reform Results Point Towards Increased Affordability
While less than a year in, the early returns point towards success. State Farm cut auto insurance rates by more than 10%, returning an estimated $400 million to Georgia drivers and businesses, or about $190 per insured vehicle. Travelers followed with a 10.1% reduction worth roughly $40 million in statewide premium savings, and Allstate added a 5% cut. The savings are reaching the public sector too: Atlanta’s transit authority, MARTA, trimmed $2.8 million in liability costs from its budget, citing a lower risk profile after reform. With many pre-reform lawsuits still working through the system, these are only the first dividends, and they signal that Georgia is on the path to lower costs and affordability.
Why This Matters for Alabama
Georgia didn’t pursue these reforms in a vacuum. They acted because an unpredictable civil justice system was driving up insurance premiums, discouraging business investment, and quietly taxing every resident who pays a monthly insurance bill. Alabama faces the exact same pressures today. Rising liability costs get passed straight through to Alabama families and small businesses in the form of higher premiums, higher prices, and, in some cases, fewer jobs.
The lesson from Georgia isn’t what changed, it’s how they got it done. Reform required sustained coalition-building, a clear public case for why litigation abuse is an economic issue and not just a legal one, and lawmakers willing to act even in the face of organized opposition. Georgia shows that comprehensive reform is achievable, that it can pass with real political support, and that it can begin to shift a state’s reputation from a magnet for litigation to a fairer, more predictable place to do business.
That’s the work ahead, and it’s exactly what ALR is organizing Alabamians to do.
