Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) announced yesterday her veto of two bills that would have allowed costly class action litigation in the Commonwealth for the first time.
“We commend Gov. Spanberger for her leadership in working to make Virginia more affordable for families and preventing her state from becoming a litigation hotspot,” said Tiger Joyce, president of the American Tort Reform Association. “Virginia lawmakers are introducing and passing more liability expanding legislation than we’ve seen in years past, showing the growing influence of the trial lawyer lobby in the Commonwealth. The governor’s vetoes of Senate Bill 229 and House Bill 449 show that she is willing to stand against the special interests of the trial bar who purport to help the people, but who would be the ultimate beneficiary should these bills have become law.”
In Virginia, a family of four pays nearly $7,400 every year in a “tort tax” due to excessive litigation costs, or $1,849 per person. Workers in Virginia also lose out on approximately 135,840 jobs each year due to excessive tort costs.
ATRA sent letters in both March and May, joined by a coalition of legal reform advocates and business leaders, urging the governor’s veto. Last year, ATRA also named the legislature a “Lawsuit Inferno” in its Legislative HeatCheck report after lawmakers passed two liability-expanding bills in 2025.
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Per the Virginia Office of the Governor, May 19, 2026:
The Governor is vetoing House Bill 449 and Senate Bill 229, which would create a new class action process in Virginia.
The Governor’s official veto statement for House Bill 449 and Senate Bill 229:
I support the General Assembly’s goal of providing a class action mechanism that can be used by plaintiffs in Virginia courts. I offered amendments to ensure that when Virginia adopts its first-ever class action procedure, we do so in a tailored and judicious way — building on longstanding, federal precedent while providing regional circuit courts an opportunity to develop expertise. The General Assembly did not accept these amendments.
