Georgia Senate Bill 68, signed into law by Governor Brian Kemp on April 21, 2025, introduces significant changes to the state’s civil litigation landscape. Most notable is the implementation of a mandatory 90-day stay of discovery after a litigant files a motion to dismiss. This provision takes effect on July 1, 2025, and allows defendants to challenge the validity of a case without the immediate burden of discovery, potentially saving time and resources if the motion is successful.
Since the passage of Senate Bill 328, there has been a movement calling on Illinois Governor Pritzker to veto Senate Bill 328. Advocates for the veto include the American Tort Reform Association, the American Property Casualty Insurance Association, and the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association. Forty-seven House and Senate Republicans joined the call on June 17, 2025, by filing a lawsuit in Sangamon County, Illinois, Tony McCombie, et al vs. Emmanuel Chris Welch in his Capacity as Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives and Don Harmon in his Capacity as President of the Illinois Senate, Case No. 2024MR000281 (Seventh Judicial Circuit Court, Sangamon County, 2025), challenging the constitutionality of the manner in which the legislation was passed.
Relevant History
On December 29, 2023, the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board instituted an emergency regulation to address occupational exposure to respirable crystalline silica. This regulation addressed additional safety requirements for businesses involved in cutting engineered stone, improved monitoring for workplace sites, and increasing the ability for workers to report non-compliant employers. These emergency regulations became permanent in February 2025.
On Friday, Judge Matthew J. Maddox of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland ruled that the removal of Democratic Commissioners from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (“CPSC”) without cause was unlawful. This decision arises from a lawsuit filed by Commissioners Mary Boyle, Alexander Hoehn-Saric, and Richard Trumka Jr. against President Donald J.
Senate Bill 328, as amended, makes significant changes to the law governing jurisdiction in Illinois, which would change Illinois from a specific jurisdiction state to a general jurisdiction state for actions that allege injury or illness resulting from exposure to a toxic substance. Per the Uniform Hazardous Substances Act of Illinois, “toxic” is defined as “any substance (other than radioactive substance) which has the capacity to produce bodily injury or illness to man through ingestion, inhalation, or absorption through any body surface.” Senate Bill 328, with end of session amendments, passed both chambers as of June 1, 2025. Governor JB Pritzker is expected to sign the legislation into law.
Last week, we reported on the Trump Administration’s abrupt firing of all three Democratic Commissioners of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (“CPSC” or the “Commission”). At the time, the fired Commissioners expressed their intention to challenge their removal in court, with former Commissioner Richard Trumka Jr. publicly stating, “See you in court, Mr. President.” Following through on that statement, legal proceedings have now begun.
As an update Georgia Governor Briam Kemp signed into law Senate Bill 68 and Senate Bill 69 on April 21, 2025.
The Georgia Assembly passed sweeping tort reform on Friday, March 21, 2025. Governor
Brian Kemp had announced his tort reform package on January 30, 2025. The Georgia Senate subsequently passed two bills, Senate Bill 68 on February 21, 2025, and Senate Bill 69 on
February 27, 2025. A committee substitute to Senate Bill 68 was debated at length on March 20, 2025, in the Georgia House, which eventually adopted the substitute and sent the legislation directly to the Georgia Senate. On March 21, 2025, after another lengthy debate, the Senate adopted the House version of SB 68. Senate Bill 69 remains in committee in the House.
We previously reported that the Illinois Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision in Martin v. Goodrich Corp., upholding the constitutionality of a 2019 amendment to the Illinois Workers’ Occupational Diseases Act (the “Act”).1 Since then, the Seventh Circuit has recognized the Illinois Supreme Court’s ruling as an “unequivocal determination” of Illinois law and allowed a plaintiff’s tort claims to proceed as exempt from the Act’s exclusivity provisions.
On December 21, 2024, Governor Kathy Hochul of New York vetoed, for a third time, the Grieving Families Act (“Act”), a significant bipartisan legislative proposal in New York aimed at reforming the state’s wrongful death statute, which has remained largely unchanged since 1847. The Act’s provisions, including expanding recoverable damages, extending the statute of limitations, and broadening the definition of beneficiaries, have significant implications on civil law in New York, including asbestos litigation.
On January 24, 2025, the Illinois Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision in Martin v. Goodrich Corp., upholding the constitutionality of a 2019 amendment to the Illinois Workers’ Occupational Diseases Act (the “Act”).1 This decision confirms that Plaintiffs can indeed file civil claims after the 25-year statute of repose period for asbestos claims under Workers’ Compensation has expired. This decision will have a far-reaching impact throughout toxic tort litigation as it allows employees to pursue civil claims against their employers even if their Workers’ Compensation claim would otherwise be barred.