SB68: SB68 Civil Practice; substantive and comprehensive revision of provisions regarding civil practice, evidentiary matters, damages, and liability in tort actions; provide

Georgia currently lets injured plaintiffs sue for both economic losses (like medical bills and lost wages) and noneconomic losses (like pain and suffering), and lets defendants use failure to wear a seat belt as evidence against a driver. This bill changes several of those rules across the state's civil practice, motor vehicle, and tort laws (Titles 9, 40, and 51 of the Official Code of Georgia). It limits when and how lawyers can argue dollar amounts for pain and suffering to juries, shortens and restructures deadlines for filing answers and pausing discovery during motions to dismiss, changes how plaintiffs can voluntarily drop and refile lawsuits, and bars recovering the same attorney's fees twice under different laws. It makes seat belt non-use usable as evidence in vehicle injury cases. It creates a brand-new, narrower legal path called "negligent security" for suing property owners over crimes committed by third parties on their property, replacing looser rules that existed before. It also changes how medical expense damages are calculated, allowing insurance-adjusted costs and information about "letter of protection" billing arrangements into evidence, and lets any party request a two-phase trial that decides fault before deciding damages. Most changes apply to lawsuits filed after the bill takes effect upon the Governor's signature; the negligent security and medical damages sections apply only to cases arising after that date.

• Restricts when and how attorneys can tell a jury a specific dollar value for pain and suffering (noneconomic damages), generally only after evidence closes.
• Changes deadlines for filing answers to lawsuits and pauses (stays) discovery for up to 90 days while certain motions to dismiss are pending.
• Revises the rules for voluntarily dismissing and refiling a civil lawsuit, including a new 60-day filing window and rules on when a second dismissal counts as a final ruling.
• Bars recovering the same attorney's fees, court costs, or litigation expenses twice under separate laws, and bars using a contingency fee agreement to prove fees are reasonable.
• Allows evidence that a car occupant was not wearing a seat belt to be used in civil lawsuits over negligence and damages, reversing the prior ban on such evidence.
• Creates a new 'negligent security' lawsuit category against property owners and security contractors for crimes committed by third parties, with specific proof requirements, exceptions, and rules for splitting fault between the property owner and the wrongdoer.

The bill affects anyone involved in a Georgia civil lawsuit over injury or death, including plaintiffs' and defense attorneys, judges, and juries. It specifically touches property owners, landlords, businesses, and security companies (through the new negligent security rules), drivers and passengers in car accident cases, healthcare providers who bill under letter of protection arrangements, and insurance companies.

The changes would make it harder to argue for large pain-and-suffering awards without evidence, give property owners a narrower and more defined path for negligent security lawsuits, let insurance-adjusted medical costs into evidence, and allow seat belt non-use to reduce a driver's recovery, all of which could shift how much money plaintiffs recover and how quickly cases move through Georgia courts.

• Section 1 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 9-10-184 to limit arguing noneconomic damages' dollar value to after evidence closes and to prevent inconsistent amounts between opening and closing arguments.
• Section 2 revises O.C.G.A. § 9-11-12 to set answer deadlines and impose a 90-day discovery stay when a motion to dismiss is filed, with limited exceptions.
• Section 3 revises O.C.G.A. § 9-11-41 on voluntary dismissals, setting a 60-day window after an answer is served and clarifying when a second dismissal acts as a final judgment.
• Section 4 adds O.C.G.A. § 9-15-16 barring duplicate recovery of attorney's fees, court costs, or litigation expenses under multiple statutes and barring use of contingency fee agreements as proof of reasonableness.
• Section 5 amends O.C.G.A. § 40-8-76.1 to make failure to wear a seat belt admissible as evidence on negligence, causation, and damages in civil cases, reversing the prior exclusion.
• Section 6 adds a new Article 5 to Title 51 (O.C.G.A. §§ 51-3-50 through 51-3-57) creating a negligent security cause of action against property owners and security contractors, defining foreseeability standards, exceptions (including trespassers and single-family homes), and fault apportionment rules, made the exclusive remedy for such claims.
• Section 7 adds O.C.G.A. § 51-12-1.1 changing how medical and healthcare expense damages are calculated, allowing insurance-adjusted amounts and letter of protection billing details into evidence, and narrowing the collateral source rule.
• Section 8 adds O.C.G.A. § 51-12-15 letting any party request a bifurcated trial that decides fault before damages, with exceptions for sexual offense cases and claims under $150,000.

1. 2025-04-21Effective Date 2025-04-21
2. 2025-04-21Act 9
3. 2025-04-21Senate Date Signed by Governor (Senate)
4. 2025-04-07Senate Sent to Governor (Senate)
5. 2025-03-21Senate Agreed House Amend or Sub (Senate)
6. 2025-03-20House Immediately Transmitted to Senate (House)
7. 2025-03-20House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
8. 2025-03-20House Third Readers (House)

• John Kennedy (R, SD-018)Primary sponsor
• Steve Gooch (R, SD-051)
• Randy Robertson (R, SD-029)
• Jason Anavitarte (R, SD-031)
• Larry Walker (R, SD-020)
• Bill Cowsert (R, SD-046)
• Ben Watson (R, SD-001)
• Drew Echols (R, SD-049)
• Greg Dolezal (R, SD-027)
• Shawn Still (R, SD-048)
• Kay Kirkpatrick (R, SD-032)
• Brandon Beach (R, SD-021)
• Chuck Payne (R, SD-054)
• Frank Ginn (R, SD-047)
• Lee Anderson (R, SD-024)
• Ricky Williams (R, SD-025)
• Max Burns (R, SD-023)
• John Albers (R, SD-056)
• Clint Dixon (R, SD-045)
• Ed Setzler (R, SD-037)
• Matt Brass (R, SD-006)
• Russ Goodman (R, SD-008)
• Mike Hodges (R, SD-003)
• Sam Watson (R, SD-011)
• Marty Harbin (R, SD-016)
• James Burchett (R, HD-176)

1. FailedSenate voteFebruary 21, 2025

   21 yea, 33 nay (0 not voting, 2 absent)

   Adoption Of Amend #2a By Sen From The 7th To Amend #2 By Sen From The 7th: Senate Vote #81

2. FailedSenate voteFebruary 21, 2025

   21 yea, 33 nay (0 not voting, 2 absent)

   Adoption Of Amendment #2 By The Senator From The 7th: Senate Vote #82

3. PassedSenate voteFebruary 21, 2025

   33 yea, 21 nay (0 not voting, 2 absent)

   Passage By Substitute: Senate Vote #83

4. PassedHouse voteMarch 20, 2025

   91 yea, 82 nay (1 not voting, 6 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #290

5. PassedHouse voteMarch 20, 2025

   94 yea, 77 nay (3 not voting, 6 absent)

   Immediately Transmit: House Vote #291

6. FailedSenate voteMarch 21, 2025

   22 yea, 32 nay (1 not voting, 1 absent)

   Agree To House Substitute As Amended: Senate Vote #272

7. PassedSenate voteMarch 21, 2025

   34 yea, 21 nay (0 not voting, 1 absent)

   Agree To House Substitute: Senate Vote #273

• tort reform
• personal injury lawsuits
• negligent security law
• medical damages
• seat belt evidence