Georgia’s New Tort Reform Laws Change the State’s Litigation Landscape

In recent years, Georgia has ranked among the top states for “nuclear” verdicts of $10 million or more in personal injury cases. On April 21, 2025, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed into law two closely watched tort reform bills, Senate Bills 68 and 69, that should help curb the trend and limit litigation costs.  

SB 68 amends Georgia statutes governing civil practice, tort liability, and damages issues to provide new protections for defendants, particularly in personal injury and wrongful death cases. S.B. 68, 158th Gen. Assem., Reg. Sess. (Ga. 2025). Highlights of the new law include:

• Automatic stay of discovery: Once a defendant moves to dismiss a case, SB 68 automatically stays discovery and directs the court to decide the motion within 90 days. Id. § 2(j)(1). After 90 days, the court may end the stay for good cause, but a defendant may also seek a remedy, including a writ of mandamus, for the failure to timely rule. Id. § 2(j)(3). The statute permits requests for “limited discovery” to establish jurisdiction, identify appropriate parties, or respond to certain defenses. Id. § 2(j)(4).
• Prohibition on anchoring damages:  SB 68 targets inflated jury verdicts for noneconomic damages like pain and suffering by prohibiting lawyers from “anchoring” requests to large but irrelevant dollar amounts such as corporate profits or compensation. Any argument for noneconomic damages must “be rationally related to the evidence” and cannot “reference . . .  objects or values having no rational connection to the facts” in the case. Id. § 1(c)(1).  
• Bifurcation:  In personal injury and wrongful death actions, SB 68 allows any party to bifurcate or trifurcate trial into liability and damages phases, with fault and apportionment determined in a first phase, compensatory damages in a second phase, and, if permitted, punitive damages, attorneys’ fees, and costs in a third phase. Id. § 8. A court may reject bifurcation only if it finds the amount in controversy is less than $150,000 or, in the case of sexual offenses, that the plaintiff would suffer serious distress from having to testify more than once. Id. § 8(b).

These provisions became effective immediately and apply to pending and future cases. Id. § 9(a). Several other provisions, including changes to premises liability and special damages laws, apply only to causes of action arising on or after April 21, 2025. Id. § 9(b).

SB 69, the “Georgia Courts Access and Consumer Protection Act,” further spotlights third-party litigation funding by introducing new regulations on such funding in the state. It requires funders to register with the state and prohibits them from making litigation decisions or directing legal strategy. S.B. 69, 158th Gen. Assem., Reg. Sess. (Ga. 2025) § 2. The law also permits discovery of the existence, terms, and conditions of litigation financing agreements, id. § 3, and makes financiers jointly and severally liable for any sanctions award in a funded case. Id. § 2. These provisions generally become effective on January 1, 2026. Id. § 5. However, Section 3, regarding the discoverability of litigation financing agreements, became effective immediately upon the Act’s signage into law. Id.