Kemp group’s ad campaign paves way for new fight over tort laws

Meanwhile, Shafer’s successor as party chair, former state Sen. Joshua McKoon, is courting donors to help with the defense.

“We will fight against those who want to destroy the legal system that has been the envy of western democratic governments in service of their personal political agenda,” McKoon’s recent fundraising appeal stated.

An overhaul of the state’s tort laws — aimed at curbing “frivolous lawsuits” and limiting jury awards — could be coming when the General Assembly returns in January.

A group linked to Gov. Brian Kemp this past week unveiled an initial six-figure media campaign that includes digital ads warning Georgians about “senseless regulations that drive up insurance prices.”

“We need to reform these laws to reduce prices, to restore fairness in our court system and to bring more jobs to our communities,” says an ad financed by the Hardworking Georgians PAC that the governor’s allies established in the runup to his 2022 reelection campaign.

Kemp first drew a bead on the tort system during a speech in August at the annual meeting of the Georgia Chamber, where he vowed to reshape regulations guiding plaintiffs’ litigation.

The governor’s advisers say he’ll play a direct role in crafting tort legislation during the upcoming session.

Republicans made rewriting the state’s rules for litigation a top priority when they took power at the Georgia Capitol nearly two decades ago. Kemp was in the Georgia Senate at the time.

Tort legislation that then-Gov. Sonny Perdue signed into law in 2005 capped medical malpractice pain-and-suffering awards at $350,000, added tougher standards for expert witnesses in malpractice trials and offered incentives for patients to settle out of court.

Doctors and hospitals backed the measures, saying they would help lure more physicians to Georgia. It’s unclear what impact it had in that regard. Business lobbies also supported them, believing they would lead to speedier out-of-court settlements.

Opposition came from trial lawyers and patient advocacy groups that said limiting damage awards puts an arbitrary price on a victim’s life. They often described the legislation as a giveaway to the insurance industry and powerful corporations.

Since then, the courts have chipped away at the overhaul.

In 2010, for example, the Georgia Supreme Court struck down the $350,000 cap.