2022 Legislative Update | Apportionment

HB 961, sponsored by Rep. Chuck Efstration (R-Dacula), amends Georgia’s apportionment statute so that in actions involving one or more persons, damages are apportioned according to the percentage of fault of each person. HB 961 is in response to the Supreme Court of Georgia’s decision in Alston & Bird LLP v. Hatcher Management Holdings, LLC, which found that O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33(b) does not allow a reduction of damages based on a jury’s allocation of fault to a nonparty in a case brought against a single defendant.