Site Selection: Satterfield on Kemp’s Tort Reform Law

Overview

In an article published in Site Selection’s May edition, Partner Wayne Satterfield provided insights on the landmark tort reform bill passed in Georgia, including the bill’s rationale as nuclear verdicts were contributing to companies, including insurers, leaving the state because they could no longer afford to do business in Georgia.

“The biggest issues in Georgia were negligent security liability, the collateral source rule and the seat belt rule,” explained Satterfield. “Property owners were being held liable for the conduct of third-party criminal acts, driving insurers out of the state. With collateral source, an injured plaintiff could put forward medical bills as evidence of damages regardless of whether an insurance company or another party had already paid those bills. That allowed for inflated judgements. And under the seat belt rule, we could not tell a jury that the plaintiff was not wearing a seat belt at the time of an accident.”

Satterfield elaborated on the “skyrocketing” of insurance rates in Georgia since 2005. “The problem was that it went through several rounds of judicial review by the Georgia Supreme Court, and it got watered down,” he said. “Rates became unaffordable for companies, and they began pulling out of the state, leading many insurers to pull out.”

Furthermore, Satterfield noted Gov. Kemp got it right this time. “You will see a stabilization of the market and a decrease in premiums across the board,” according to Satterfield. “You will see a decrease in large verdicts – or what are sometimes called nuclear verdicts. As these verdicts decrease and the settlements go down, the market will stabilize, insurers will come back to the market and [they will] lower their rates.”

You can read the full article on the Site Selection website.

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