Georgia's New Battleground: Five Georgia Law Professors Examine the State's New Tort Legislation

Lonnie T. Brown Jr., University of Georgia School of Law
Ronald L. Carlson, University of Georgia School of Law
Thomas A. Eaton, University of Georgia School of Law
C. Ronald Ellington, University of Georgia School of Law
Michael L. Wells, University of Georgia School of Law

Presented in March to attendees of the Joseph Henry Lumpkin Society Educational Seminar Series (reserved for annual Georgia Law donors of $1,000 or more and their guests) in Atlanta and to law students at a forum on campus. Published in The Advocate, Spring/Summer 2005, Vol. 39, No. 2

Abstract

In February, after several years of debate, the Georgia General Assembly enacted a comprehensive set of tort reform provisions. This fairly complex body of legislation contains 16 separate sections dealing with procedure, evidence and substantive tort issues. Shortly after it was signed into law, five Georgia Law professors sat down with alumni and students to describe parts of the new legislation, to identify some issues that are likely to arise as the new laws go into effect and to speculate about what they think the likely impact will be on litigation.