Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on April 21, 2025, signed into law Senate Bills (SB) 68 and 69 – Georgia's headline-grabbing tort reform bills (the Tort Reform Package). Though much has been published about the Tort Reform Package's potential impacts on personal injury litigation, the legislation also includes certain notable changes to Georgia's framework governing the use of third-party litigation funding. In particular, SB 69, the Georgia Courts Access and Consumer Protection Act, adds multiple new requirements for those who seek to finance litigation in Georgia in an effort to restrain their influence on litigation and improve transparency around third-party litigation financing arrangements. These arrangements are particularly common in the areas of mass torts, intellectual property and antitrust litigation. The new requirements are noteworthy for any litigants in Georgia considering the use of outside funding, in particular because they threaten criminal liability and penalties. These include:
- Registration Requirement. The Act applies to any person or entity "engaged in formed, created, or established for the purpose of engaging in any kind of business or economic activity that involves providing litigation financing in exchange for consideration of any kind." Such persons must register with Georgia's Department of Banking and Finance as a "litigation financier." This involves a number of steps to ensure compliance.
- Joint and Several Liability. A litigation financier that agrees to provide $25,000 or more in funding pursuant to a litigation financing agreement may be jointly and severally liable for any award or order imposing or assessing costs or monetary sanctions for frivolous litigation.
- Litigation Financing Agreements. The terms of a litigation financing agreement must be set forth in a fully completed, written litigation financing contract with no material terms or conditions omitted. There are now specific disclosure requirements, including those that relate to the ability to cancel the agreement. The terms of litigation financing agreements for more than $25,000 are also now subject to discovery.
- No Foreign Financing. No one affiliated with any foreign government, foreign adversary, foreign person, foreign principal or sovereign wealth fund may register as a litigation financier or enter into a litigation financing agreement in Georgia.
SB 69 will take effect on Jan. 1, 2026. As of that date, any third-party litigation funder must comply with Georgia's new litigation funding requirements. Noncompliance penalties range from misdemeanors to felonies, fines of up to $10,000 and potential prison time from one to five years. Parties engaged in litigation financing in Georgia should take heed of these significant new penalties and ensure efforts to comply with the Tort Reform Package's new registration and related requirements.
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