Ga.’s Statute of Repose Does Not Apply to ‘Recklessness,’ State High Court Rules

ATLANTA — The Georgia Supreme Court has ruled that the state’s 10-year repose statute does not apply to product liability claims sounding in negligence that “arise out of conduct which manifests reckless disregard for life or property.”

In a case against Ford Motor Co. involving a death allegedly caused by a rollover accident, the high court also defined “reckless disregard for life or property,” under OCGA § 51- 1-11 (c).

In 2018, Cindy Cosper sued Ford in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia on behalf of her father, Ronnie Ammerson, who was a passenger in …