Are lawsuits threatening Georgia's position for business?

(The Center Square) — While Georgia officials love to tout the state's purported ranking as the best in the country for business, frivolous lawsuits threaten its position.

"It's important to recognize the economic impact that the civil litigation is creating on our economies," Matt Jones, chair of the Georgia Association of Convenience Stores' board of directors, said during a roundtable discussion on civil litigation policies last week.

"...Effectively, what's happening is they're just sucking out billions of dollars from the economy," Jones said. "Meanwhile, people like us have increased costs, increased premiums, and the risk of doing business is harder and harder every year."

A study The Perryman Group conducted for Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse and released earlier this year revealed the economic impact of "excessive torts" in Georgia averages $5,592 per year for a family of four, an increase from $4,855 last year. The review also found the "tort tax" resulted in the loss of 137,658 jobs statewide, up from 123,900 the previous year.

"This is not an easy problem to tackle, but it's one where we should and will work together to address," Republican Gov. Brian Kemp said during the roundtable. "...If we want to maintain that distinction, this is an issue that we must address."

During the most recent legislative session, lawmakers passed House Bill 1114, the "Data Analysis for Tort Reform Act." Kemp signed the measure, which empowers state officials to collect information about insurance to inform possible reform measures.

The ultimate goal should be "stabilizing cost for Georgia citizens and businesses and making sure that they have access to multiple folks in the marketplace," Kemp said. "Right now, everyone across the country, including our fellow Georgians, are struggling under record high prices. Insurance costs are a major component of that growing cost."

As an example, Kemp cited a report from Bankrate that found Georgia to be the most expensive state in the country because of the hidden cost of owning a vehicle, averaging $8,249 annually.

"We're hearing it day in and day out that our small businesses, they have the case, they think they could ... win," NFIB State Director Hunter Loggins said. "However, they don't have the means to continue out litigation, discovery, continuances. The system is designed for settlement."