Prominent trial attorney Kenneth Nugent and family members employed by his firm have given $170,000 to support the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association’s Political Action Committee (PAC), Civil Justice PAC Inc, since 2020. This period coincides with an ongoing debate over tort reform in the state, according to state donation records on TransparencyUSA.org.
TransparencyUSA.org reports that Nugent has made one political donation in the state’s 2024 election cycle: a $15,000 contribution to Civil Justice PAC Inc (CJPI). His past donations were almost exclusively to CJPI, including $10,000 in 2022 and $70,000 in 2020. Son-in-law William Hammill donated $40,000 in 2020, Nugent’s son Barton Goode gave $20,000, and his late son-in-law Ryan Horn contributed $15,000 that same year.
In a Southern Season Magazine profile published on May 27, 2019, titled “Ken Nugent: The Master of Calculated Risks,” author Eileen Gord highlighted the personal injury attorney’s confidence and intelligence. The article described Nugent’s Buckhead home and his library of first editions. It also emphasized his family’s involvement in his law firm, noting that four of his children and a total of twelve family members work there. His daughter Kaitlin Nugent Hammill, her husband Will Hammill, and son-in-law Ryan Horn are all attorneys. His son Barton Goode works in the Midtown office where Cal Nugent is the director of community relations.
A February 27 Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I) press release announced a report scrutinizing tactics used to increase lawsuits, litigation expenses, and settlement payouts. The report highlighted how plaintiffs’ attorneys employ aggressive marketing to attract clients through billboards, TV ads, and social media. Triple-I CEO Sean Kevelighan emphasized the real costs behind these practices. He noted that billboard attorneys are driving up fees while consumers receive less. Kevelighan stressed that insurance prices reflect increased claims costs due to legal system abuse.
Thomas Purdue from The Georgia Public Policy Institute wrote in a June 13 report titled “Tort Reform and Georgia’s Judicial Nightmare” that Georgia has topped the American Tort Reform Association’s “Judicial Hellholes” list for the second consecutive year due to lawsuit abuse and excessive tort costs. According to Purdue, this has prompted increased interest in tort reform among Georgia lawmakers and Governor Brian Kemp. Recent legislative efforts like the “Trucking Opportunity Act of 2023” reflected a growing movement towards reforming the state’s civil litigation laws. However, this act passed in the Georgia House but failed in the Senate due to opposition from trial lawyers.
Kenneth S. Nugent’s website states: “Let our family work for your family…” claiming: “we possess the resources to challenge large insurance companies and corporations on behalf of those wronged by their actions.”
