On April 21, 2025, Governor Brian Kemp signed Senate Bills 68 and 69 into law, marking the most significant overhaul of Georgia’s tort system since 2005. S.B. 68, the broader of the two bills, introduced sweeping changes to civil litigation procedures and damages. Key changes include redefining negligent security actions with a clearer and narrower framework fro property owner liability, restricting so-called “phantom damages” by limiting medical expense recovery to amounts actually paid rather than inflated billed rates, and allowing trial bifurcation in serious injury or wrongful death cases so that fault and damages are decided separately. The bill also made seatbelt usage admissible at trial, allowing juries to consider it when apportioning fault and evaluating damages in motor vehicle accident cases.
S.B. 69 tackled third-party litigation funding (TPLF), an area that had drawn significant concern from business groups. The legislation bans hostile foreign adversaries from using Georgia’s judicial system to pursue litigation that could undermine security or economic interests, protects consumers from predatory litigation lenders, and increases transparency for courts, opposing parties, and plaintiffs themselves. Effective January 1, 2026, all litigation financiers operating in Georgia must register with the state and disclose ownership and any criminal convictions, with registration barred for those associated with foreign adversaries — violations are felonies punishable by up to five years in prison. Proponents argued the reforms were urgently needed, pointing to estimates that excessive tort costs in Georgia result in a $1,415 annual “tort tax” per resident and contribute to the loss of nearly 135,000 jobs across the state each year.
Other states around the country, such as Indiana, are looking at the example set by Georgia as one way to address inflation by curbing insurance premium increases and the cost of doing business in the state.
