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Georgia Court Overturns Chamber of Commerce-Backed “Tort Reform;”
ATLA Applauds Effort
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Georgia Court Ruling:
“No constitutional right is more indispensable than the
right of access to the courts, as it would be virtually impossible
for an individual to protect or enforce his rights without having
'meaningful access to justice.'”
Superior
Court of Gwinnett County
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(Friday, September 23, 2005) - Yesterday, the Superior Court
of Gwinnett County in the State of Georgia overturned a key element
of the recently-passed Georgia tort reform bill, handing the Chamber
of Commerce a major set back. The law, O.C.G.A. § 9-11-68, known
as the "Offer of Settlement" rule, was held unconstitutional
because it violated the right of access to the courts and could not
be retroactively applied.
Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA) President Ken Suggs
applauded the court's decision saying, "so-called 'tort reforms'
like this one are blatant attempts by big corporations to tilt the
legal playing field in their favor and against average Americans.
This ruling goes to show that when lawmakers try to trample on people's
constitutional rights and limit their access to the courthouse, justice
ultimately prevails."
"The Georgia Trial Lawyers Association is to be commended for
its efforts to protect individual rights to hold wrongdoers accountable
in a court of law," Suggs said.
In the case of Muenster v. Suh, the court agreed with the arguments
presented in the amicus curiae brief submitted by the Georgia Trial
Lawyers Association that the law was unconstitutional.
The law that was overturned was also referred to as the "Winner
Pays" law. It required a party that prevailed in a lawsuit to
obtain a judgment of more than 125% of the proposed settlement offer
or face paying the opposing party's attorney fees - even if the party
who turned down the settlement offer won the suit. The case will likely
be appealed to the Supreme Court of Georgia.
The ruling may be accessed at http://www.gtla.org/brief-bank/document.php?id=272.
# # #
As the world's largest trial bar, ATLA
promotes justice and fairness for injured persons, defends the constitutional
right to trial by jury, and strengthens the civil justice system through
education and disclosure of information critical to public health
and safety. With 60,000 members worldwide, ATLA provides lawyers with
the information and professional assistance they need to serve clients
successfully and protect the democratic values of the civil justice
system.
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