Georgia senator hails new insurance tort reform bill as carefully crafted compromise
The bill would stop plaintiffs from suing insurance companies directly in motor vehicle cases if they can also serve the motor carrier and the driver.
Georgia’s latest tort reform measure would prevent plaintiffs from bringing a direct action against insurance companies in motor vehicle suits if the plaintiff can also get service on the motor carrier and the driver.
The proposed legislation was touted as a “hard-fought, carefully crafted compromise by parties on all sides,” between plaintiffs and defense attorneys brought by bill sponsor Sen. Blake Tillery, R-Valdosta, before the Georgia Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Feb. 6, 2024.
“I wish I could tell you it’s a bill that, when I bring it up here, everybody’s gonna sing ‘Kumbaya’ and tell you that it’s great. They’re not,” Tillery said.
This was the bill’s first hearing before the committee after being introduced on Jan. 30, 2024. It passed unanimously, though it still needs to make it through two more readings before it can go on to the House.
A similar measure last year aimed to completely repeal the direct action statute was included in the proposed Trucking Opportunity Act of 2023 but never came to fruition.
According to Tillery, the argument from insurers is that the state’s current direct action statute “puts Georgia at a disadvantage for insurance companies and has possibly caused insurers to either increase their rates or consider leaving the state,” and said that Georgia is in the minority of states that allow plaintiffs to directly sue a defendant’s insurer in trucking torts
Meanwhile, “the argument from the other side was, ‘If the insurance company is insolvent and we can’t get service, the [plaintiff] has no recovery right whatsoever because service can never be protected,” Tillery said.
No one opposing the measure testified at the hearing. In an email exchange, the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association said it is “continuing to review [the bill] and looks forward to working on it through the legislative process.”
Those who did testify included a representative on behalf of Georgians for Lawsuit Reform, state Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John King and a representative from the Georgia Chamber of Commerce.
“In no uncertain terms, this is a bill that would improve the state of play for motor carriers facing lawsuits in the state of Georgia,” said defense attorney Ben Harbin of Waldon Adelman on behalf of Georgians for Lawsuit Reform. “This bill will severely curtail the ability of insurance companies to be brought in and sued in personal injury cases with caveats that personal injury attorneys can live with that will allow them to perfect service in situations where the tortfeasor trucking company or employee disappears. I think that’s a win for all sides.”
“This has been before our body in various forms for at least the eight years I’ve been here, and I want to tell everyone I appreciate their help to get it to a point where I think we can get it across the finish line this year,” Tillery said. “I know that it meant everyone had to give a little bit, so when you get to a point where everybody’s a little bit upset, maybe you’ve finally found a bill that can get past both chambers and get signed by the governor.”
The legislation is Senate Bill 426 in the Georgia General Assembly.
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