Bills have been introduced in both chambers of the Georgia General Assembly to allow defendants in civil suits in Georgia to once again be able to apportion fault to non-parties in single-defendant cases.

Historically, defendants in civil suits in Georgia were able to argue non-party apportionment of fault in any civil case so long as the notice of intent to apportion fault to a non-party was filed at least 120 days ahead of trial in compliance with O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33(d)(1).  In its groundbreaking ruling in Alston & Bird LLP v. Hatcher Management Holdings, LLC, Docket No. S20C1419, the Georgia Supreme Court upended 16 years of precedent to where fault can currently only be apportioned in civil cases where there is more than one defendant.

While there is no guarantee that either of these bills will pass, all interested parties will not have to wait long as Georgia’s annual regular legislative session adjourns on April 4, 2022. The all-important Crossover Day where it is determined if a bill will advance from one chamber of the General Assembly to the other thereby making a bill more likely to be adopted by both chambers occurs on March 15, 2022.  If either bill does pass in both chambers, it is anticipated that Governor Kemp could sign either bill into law as early as May or June 2022.

The attorneys of Boyd & Jenerette, P.A. closely monitor legislative developments such as this one to assist their clients in anticipating how laws may change and to recommend corresponding revised litigation strategies to best position their clients for success in the courtroom.

Stay tuned to see if apportionment of fault will once again be allowed in single-defendant cases in Georgia...