GeorgiaSB 692025-2026 Regular SessionSenateWALLET

"Georgia Courts Access and Consumer Protection Act"; enact

Sponsored By: John Albers (Republican), Jason Anavitarte (Republican), Lee Anderson (Republican), Brandon Beach (Republican), Matt Brass (Republican), Max Burns (Republican), Bill Cowsert (Republican), Clint Dixon (Republican), Greg Dolezal (Republican), Drew Echols (Republican), Frank Ginn (Republican), Steve Gooch (Republican), Russ Goodman (Republican), Marty Harbin (Republican), Bo Hatchett (Republican), Billy Hickman (Republican), Mike Hodges (Republican), John F. Kennedy (Republican), Kay Kirkpatrick (Republican), Chuck Payne (Republican), Randy Robertson (Republican), Ed Setzler (Republican), Shawn Still (Republican), Larry Walker (Republican), Ben Watson (Republican), Sam Watson (Republican), Rick Williams (Republican)

Signed by Governor

RulesJudiciaryGeneral Bill

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

8 provisions identified: 4 benefits, 2 costs, 2 mixed.

Lawsuit funders cannot control your case

Lawsuit financiers cannot control case decisions, give legal advice, mislead consumers, withhold completed contracts, or require consumers to give up legal remedies. They cannot steer consumers to service providers or use banned referral payments; case service providers cannot hold financing interests or receive payments from financiers or their associates. The financier's maximum payment cannot exceed your share of case proceeds after attorney fees and costs. Financiers cannot report you to credit bureaus when case proceeds are too small to repay them fully. Selling, assigning, or packaging financing contracts into securities is generally barred, with limited affiliate, subsidiary, and security-interest exceptions that leave collection, contract management, and enforcement with the financier.

Lawsuit funders must cover adverse costs

Financiers must cover adverse costs, attorney fees, damages, and sanctions ordered against plaintiffs, claimants, and their legal representatives. Coverage excludes losses the financier shows were caused by those people's intentional misconduct. A financier committing $25,000 or more may also share legal responsibility for costs or monetary sanctions from frivolous litigation. When its contractual repayment right is a fixed amount, this liability cannot exceed that amount minus money already advanced.

Seat belt use affects crash claims

Courts may consider seat belt nonuse when deciding negligence, causation, assumed risk, or each person's share of fault. This evidence may reduce payment for motor-vehicle damages, but it must follow other evidence rules. Seat belt nonuse cannot be used to cancel insurance coverage or raise an insurance rate. The change covers cases started on or after the law's effective date, not cases already pending then.

Clearer lawsuit financing contracts and cancellation

Lawsuit financing contracts must be fully written and complete at signing, with the financier's name and business address on the first page. You or your legal representative can cancel without penalty within five business days after signing or receiving money, whichever is later. Cancellation requires notifying the financier and returning the money received. Key disclosures must appear directly above your signature in at least 14-point bold type under “IMPORTANT DISCLOSURES -- PLEASE READ CAREFULLY.” They must explain cancellation, the repayment cap, your control over the case, and your freedom to choose a lawyer. Material changes require full disclosure and every party's prior written consent. You must sign your own contract unless you lack legal capacity; otherwise, a contract signed for you by a legal representative is void and unenforceable. Your representative must confirm that they, their employer, and its employees have not exchanged or promised anything of value with the financier. A representative with a related financing agreement must give you a copy and get your signed acknowledgment that you read and understood it.

Some lawsuit funding avoids financing rules

The law exempts specified nonprofit, business-activity, and lender financing from its lawsuit financing rules. Qualifying nonprofits must receive no interest, fees, or other compensation and generally no repayment from case proceeds, subject to an in-house counsel exception. Qualifying business-activity entities must receive no compensation and have no financial interest or recovery right in the proceeding. Lenders qualify only when they have no right to payment from case proceeds or other value realized from the proceeding.

Financing violations carry fines and prison

A financier's violation makes the financing agreement void and unenforceable by the financier or anyone succeeding to its rights. A person who willfully violates the law commits a felony punishable by one to five years in prison. The penalty can also include a fine of up to $10,000, either alone or with imprisonment. The law also permits misdemeanor punishment through its specified court and jury-recommendation procedures.

Lawsuit funders face registration and charges

Lawsuit financiers must register before offering or entering financing agreements in Georgia, and their registration filings are public records. They must update filings within 30 days after a change or after information becomes inaccurate or incomplete. The Department of Banking and Finance may deny initial or amended registrations for unmet requirements or qualifying felony convictions within the past 10 years. The conviction rule covers applicants and specified leaders, owners, and people controlling policy, with exceptions for reversed convictions, completed qualifying first-offender probation or sentences, and pardons. Applicants and registrants must pay charges for using the nationwide licensing registry; registration fees may cover the Department's participation costs.

Parties gain access to financing terms

Parties can seek the existence and terms of lawsuit financing agreements connected to a pending case through evidence gathering. An agreement involving someone outside the case is covered only when it provides at least $25,000 in funding. This gives parties access to funding details while exposing covered agreements to disclosure. Disclosure alone does not make the information usable at trial, though it may serve as evidence for a claim or defense. The rule covers proceedings started and contracts entered into on or after the law's effective date.

Sponsors & Cosponsors

Cosponsors

James Burchett
Republican • House

Roll Call Votes

All Roll Calls

Yes: 322 • No: 111

House vote • 3/31/2025

Agree to SAm to HSub

Yes: 120 • No: 42 • Other: 6

Senate vote • 3/28/2025

AGREE TO HOUSE SUBSTITUTE AS AMENDED

Yes: 52 • No: 0

House vote • 3/27/2025

PASSAGE

Yes: 98 • No: 69 • Other: 3

Senate vote • 2/27/2025