Insights

Washington, D.C. – July 17, 2023: Crowell & Moring hosted its 24thannual George Bailey Public Service Awards ceremony. Named after the hero of the classic movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” these awards recognize the firm’s lawyers and staff who have made a substantial impact on the lives of others.

Yesterday, New York Governor Kathy Hochul vetoed Senate Bill S74A, better known as the Grieving Families Act (“the Act”), which was meant to overhaul the state’s wrongful death statute. The Bill was delivered to the governor's desk on December 28 and, after she was unable to secure last-minute support to proposed changes to the Bill, Governor Hochul vetoed the bill on January 31.

In late 2021, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law the Comprehensive Insurance Disclosure Act, which imposes affirmative insurance disclosure requirements on parties to civil actions. The Governor’s signature came with an approval memorandum stating that the information required to be disclosed must be “properly tailored for the intended purpose, which is to ensure that parties in a litigation are correctly informed about the limits of potential insurance coverage.” 

Yesterday, we reported on New York’s recently enacted Comprehensive Insurance Disclosure Act, signed into law by Governor Kathy Hochul. We note that the Governor’s agreement to sign the legislation was accompanied by an approval memorandum, which explained that Governor Hochul signed the legislation based on “an agreement with the Legislature to ensure that the scope of the insurance coverage information that parties must provide is properly tailored for the intended purpose, which is to insure that parties in a litigation are correctly informed about the limits of potential insurance coverage.”