DEKALB COUNTY, GEORGIA JUDGE UPHOLDS CONSTITUTIONALITY OF APPORTIONMENT STATUTE: O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33
Posted by Susan J. Levy and H. Lee Pruett
In 2005, the Georgia Legislature passed a number of tort reform measures designed, at least in part, to benefit defendants in civil suits. The Tort Reform Act included an amendment to O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33 which specifically abrogated joint and several liability and mandated that juries now consider the fault of nonparties in assessing the percentages of fault. In a recent case handled by our firm, we used the new statute and timely filed a Notice of Fault of Nonparty identifying the driver of Plaintiff’s vehicle as the at-fault nonparty. In response, Plaintiff filed a Motion to Strike, arguing (1) that O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33 is unconstitutional and (2) that there can be no apportionment of fault under O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33 unless the plaintiff is to some degree responsible for his damages.
