Hurricane destruction highlights need for tort reform

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) has wrapped up a series of roundtable discussions collecting information on the need for tort reform in the state.

The final session was held at Waffle House headquarters in Norcross, Ga, and was attended by elected officials and business leaders from 12 companies across the state. ABD sat in on the session virtually.

In his welcoming remarks, Joe Rogers III, CEO of Waffle House, said Georgia has reached a crisis point in the civil litigation, one that will likely be impacted by the devastation from Hurricane Helene.

“Georgians will already be paying more in the way of increased insurance costs due to natural disasters and increased claims,” he said. “We should not add insult to injury by continuing to expose Georgians to the uncertainties and rising costs of a civil litigation system that has gone off the rails. The current state of civil litigation in Georgia is negatively and severely impacting citizens and businesses of all sizes.”

The first roundtable was held in August and focused on the impact businesses were feeling from ballooning civil lawsuits. That was followed by a September discussion devoted to civil litigation in healthcare.

Kemp said the earlier sessions were centered on small businesses across the state. The final session engaged leaders of companies with thousands of employees like Waffle House, Racetrac, and Home Depot.

The Governor said some businesses struggle with frivolous lawsuits and have difficulty securing insurance coverage, particularly those in high-crime areas.

“Aren’t able to get insurance coverage because of enormous legal judgments as someone is hurt or worse during a crime on the property that they obviously didn’t want or encourage,” he said. “So, in addition to continuing to prioritize public safety, if we don’t address this issue, it’s going to mean higher prices for our consumers and fewer job opportunities for hardworking Georgians.”

One panelist, Joseph Akers, RaceTrac’s Chief Legal Officer, said he was familiar with how crime can impact civil lawsuits, and then insurance rates. He has been with Racetrac for 19 years and said in his early days, opening locations in Florida could be a litigation nightmare, but that was not the case in Georgia. He said that’s changed.

“Over time, over several sessions, Florida has passed meaningful tort reform, and now, unfortunately, we’re talking a lot about Georgia,” he said, adding, “Crime is up, and things have happened at our stores, at multiple locations in Georgia and out of Georgia, and it is causing our cost to continue to rise.”

Newton Jennings, Executive Vice President and Managing Director of the Marsh McLennan Insurance Agency, said those are the costs passed on to consumers.

“It all boils down, it trickles downstream to the consumer,” he said. “About $1,213.80 per year for every Georgia citizen, that’s kind of deemed as a tort tax. It’s additional funds that we pay as consumers based on the current cost of Georgia.”

The roundtable sessions are the outgrowth of the passage of the Data Analysis for Tort Reform Act during the 2024 Legislative Session. (https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/66622)

Information and suggestions gathered during the roundtable discussions will be used to prepare a report with viable steps for tort reform in Georgia. The report is to be submitted to the Governor by November 1.

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