There is little likelihood Georgia legislators will respond to ahigh court decision striking down a new law restricting malpracticesuits by immediately drafting revised legislation, a governmentexpert for an insurance trade group said today.

"I doubt there's enough sentiment to get that done in thecurrent session," said Raymond G. Farmer, the American InsuranceAssociation's assistant vice president for the SoutheastRegion.

His comments came after Monday's Georgia Supreme Court rulingthat found part of a 2005 law restricting where malpractice suitscould be brought violated the state constitution.

The court, in a unanimous decision, ruled out a provision of thestate law that allowed defendants in malpractice cases to requirethe action against them to be tried in the county where they arebased if that was where the alleged malpractice occurred.

According to the six-judge ruling, under the law the power tochange the place where a case is tried resides with the courts, andthe new legislation improperly stripped them of that power.

A defendant "may require a court to transfer venue by simplyfiling a motion to transfer, thus divesting the courts of any powerover the decision to change venue," the decision stated.

AIA called the ruling a "setback for Georgia's recent progresson civil justice reform," adding that "the objective of theprovision was to prevent a plaintiff's lawyer from venue shoppingto find a more sympathetic jury pool."

The case at issue involved an Atlanta area shared hospitalnetwork, EHCA Cartersville, LLC v.Bart Turner.

Mr. Farmer noted that the decision came almost one year to theday that Georgia's legislature passed S.B. 3, a comprehensive tortreform bill.

The court decision, which cannot be appealed, is "a blow to thegoal of leveling the playing field for plaintiffs and defendantsalike regarding venue in medical malpractice cases," said Mr.Farmer.

State Sen. Preston Smith, R-Rome, who sponsored the reform bill,did not respond to a request for comment prior to the posting ofthis article. The Senate Democratic minority, which raisedobjections when the legislation was passed, also had no immediatecomment.

Passage of litigation reform legislation was one of the keypriorities of Republicans last year when they took control of bothhouses of the legislature.