ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp stated Tuesday that he desires to make it tougher for folks to file lawsuits and win huge authorized judgments, arguing that fits are driving up insurance coverage and enterprise prices.
“The laws on our books make it too easy to bring frivolous lawsuits against Georgia business owners which drive up the price of insurance and stop new, good-paying jobs from ever coming to communities that need them the most,” Kemp informed the Georgia of Chamber of Commerce throughout a speech in Athens.
He argued that the state’s excessive auto insurance coverage charges had been among the many harms.
Kemp’s remarks introduced a partisan tone to the annual chamber occasion, at the same time as Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff argued {that a} bipartisan method was finest for Georgia.
“Let’s work together,” Ossoff exhorted the largely Republican enterprise group. “Let’s put politics aside.”
The chamber has lengthy supported limits on lawsuits, however their efforts have stalled within the legislature in recent times. Kemp’s speech indicators that he’ll again the chamber, which endorsed his 2022 reelection.
Georgia lawmakers capped noneconomic damages together with ache and struggling in a 2005 tort reform legislation, however the state Supreme Court overturned such caps as unconstitutional in 2010.
The announcement units up a significant combat when the General Assembly convenes in 2024. This yr, Kemp pushed into legislation nearly the entire agenda he sought when he was reelected, leaving him in a position to launch new initiatives.
The determination traces up with Kemp’s background as a property developer. Owners of economic properties and condo complexes have been a number of the greatest supporters of lawsuit limits. Another huge backer is the trucking business. Kemp referred to as the burdens on these industries “unacceptable.”
“Local trucking companies either can’t afford the insurance they’re offered, or can’t find a carrier altogether, and business owners live in fear of being sued for ridiculous claims on their property,” Kemp stated.
Kemp stated his name to “level the playing field in our courtrooms” will reduce insurance coverage premiums and assist create extra jobs.
Linking the difficulty to auto insurance coverage charges may assist. Georgia had the eighth most costly common auto insurance coverage premiums in 2020, based on the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, with a mean premium of 1,254.83. Rates had been the central situation within the 2020 election for state insurance coverage commissioner.
It’s unclear what would possibly emerge. But a business-backed plan in 2020 sought to restrict damages for faulty merchandise to $250,000, make it tougher to sue property house owners for harms on their property brought on by another person, and bar plaintiff’s legal professionals from arguing for a particular amount of cash earlier than a jury. Business teams additionally say Georgia ought to change its observe of permitting plaintiffs to sue an insurance coverage firm on the similar time they sue a trucking firm.
Republicans largely assist restrictions and Democrats largely oppose them.
“I think that parties who have been harmed or injured or exploited or abused deserve an opportunity through our justice system to pursue redress,” Ossoff informed reporters earlier than the occasion. “And of course, it’s also the case that businesses sometimes bear the cost of responding to abusive litigation. So it’s about striking the right balance.”
Ossoff was at pains to emphasise his bipartisanship, saying Georgia is at its finest when everyone seems to be “all pulling in the same direction.”
“You will not find me investing my time courting controversy on national cable news or posting insults on social media,” Ossoff stated. “That’s not the way to get things done for Georgia and my job is to get things done for Georgia.”
Ossoff’s remarks come just a little greater than a month after Kemp attacked Democrats on the groundbreaking for a provider of electrical battery materials in Bainbridge. Kemp has stated Georgia Republicans – not President Joe Biden’s administration – ought to get the credit score for attracting electrical car makers to the state. Ossoff argues the electrical car increase wouldn’t occur with out Democratic insurance policies, however argues “we’re all on the same team, and that’s team Georgia.”
Kemp may problem Ossoff for his Senate seat in 2026.
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