New York, N.Y. (December 9, 2022) - For months, the New York legal and business communities have been following the progress of Bill S74A, also known as the "Grieving Families Act," which was passed by the New York legislature in June 2022. Now that Governor Hochul has been reelected, we anticipate she may sign the bill into law within days or weeks.
As discussed in prior client alerts, the statute in its current form would vastly increase the amount of recoverable damages in a wrongful death case, primarily in two ways. First, the Act would greatly expand the class of plaintiffs entitled to recover, including but not limited to anyone deemed by the fact-finder to have a "close" relationship with the deceased. Second, the Act would allow claimants to recover not just for economic damages (as per the current iteration of the Wrongful Death statute; see Estates, Powers and Trusts Law § 5-4.3 (a)), but also for grief, sympathy, and loss of consortium. Moreover, at least in its current form, the Act would apply retroactively to all pending wrongful death lawsuits in New York.
While Governor Hochul may amend the current version prior to signature, and she also has the option to veto the bill entirely, the importance of this legislation cannot be overstated. Accordingly, if signed, within 72 hours of the bill becoming law, our office will conduct a webinar regarding the law's key provisions and impact on current and future cases.
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