File #: Res 0517-2004    Version: * Name: Enact the Sunshine in Litigation Act
Type: Resolution Status: Filed
Committee: Committee on State and Federal Legislation
On agenda: 8/12/2004
Enactment date: Law number:
Title: Resolution calling upon the New York State Legislature to enact the Sunshine In Litigation Act, A-07017 and S-2995-A, an act that would prohibit settlement agreements that conceal a public hazard or any information that would conceal a public hazard.
Sponsors: Margarita Lopez, Lewis A. Fidler, Alan J. Gerson, James Sanders, Jr., Helen D. Foster, Robert Jackson
Council Member Sponsors: 6

Res. No. 517

 

Resolution calling upon the New York State Legislature to enact the Sunshine In Litigation Act, A-07017 and S-2995-A, an act that would prohibit settlement agreements that conceal a public hazard or any information that would conceal a public hazard.

 

 

By Council Members Lopez, Fidler, Gerson, Sanders, Foster and Jackson

 

Whereas, Secrecy agreements that conceal public hazards undermine the civil justice system, endanger New Yorkers, and have a corrosive effect on public confidence in the courts; and

Whereas, Defendants in civil suits, particularly product liability suits, often demand, as a condition for any settlement, that information discovered in the course of the suit not be released to the public; and

Whereas, The recent controversy surrounding Firestone tires underscores the need to protect against such secrecy agreements; and

Whereas, Although victims of accidents involving Firestone tires initiated suit against the company in 1992, the tires were not recalled until 2000; and

Whereas, During the interim, dozens of lawsuits were settled out of court in which Firestone demanded and obtained secrecy orders; and

Whereas, These secrecy orders prevented essential information on public safety from being released and led to unnecessary injuries and death; and

Whereas, Other secrecy agreements have resulted from suits regarding asbestos, silicone breast implants, and synthetic estrogen; now, therefore, be it

                     Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the New York State Legislature to enact the Sunshine In Litigation Act, A-07017 and S-2995-A, an act that would prohibit settlement agreements that conceal a public hazard or any information that would conceal a public hazard.

LS# 1135

RBU

06/25/2004