Relates to the statute of limitations for civil actions related to certain sexual offenses committed against a person eighteen years of age or older, revives such actions otherwise barred by the existing statute of limitations and grants trial preference to such actions; directs the chief administrator of the courts to promulgate rules for the timely adjudication of certain revived actions.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A648A
SPONSOR: Rosenthal L TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the civil practice law and rules, in relation to the
statute of limitations for civil actions related to certain sexual
offenses committed against a person eighteen years of age or older,
reviving such actions otherwise barred by the existing statute of limi-
tations and granting trial preference to such actions; and to amend the
judiciary law, in relation to directing the chief administrator of the
courts to promulgate rules for the timely adjudication of certain
revived actions
PURPOSE:
To create a one-year window for adult survivors of sexual offenses to
bring civil claims which were previously time-barred.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill creates a new section 214-j of the Civil Practice
Law & Rules to allow for time-barred actions in which conduct which
would constitute a sexual offense against a person 18 years of age or
older is alleged to be revived, and not be barred by any statute of
limitation or notice of claim requirement otherwise existing in law.
Such revival can only take place within a one year window which
commences six months from the effective date of the act. This section
explicitly applies notwithstanding any other section of law pertaining
to the filing of a notice of claim or a notice of intention to file a
claim as a condition precedent to bringing a civil action against a
public institution. This section also makes clear that any revived civil
actions brought during the one-year window that were previously
dismissed due to being time-barred or for failure to file a notice of
claim or a notice of intention to file a claim shall not be dismissed on
those grounds.
Section 2 of the bill amends rule 3403 of the Civil Practice Law & Rules
to establish a special trial preference for cases which have been
revived pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
Section 3 of the bill creates a new section 219-e of the Judiciary Law
to require the Chief Administrative Judge of the Office of Court Admin-
istration to promulgate rules concerning the timely adjudication of
claims revived pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
Section 4 of the bill is a severability clause. Section 5 of the bill is
the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
In 2019, the New York State Legislature enacted the Child Victims Act
(S.2440/A.2683), prospectively increasing the criminal and civil stat-
utes of limitations for child sexual offenses, and creating a one-year
window for the revival of otherwise time-barred child sexual abuse-re-
lated lawsuits. The Legislature also enacted legislation (S.6574/A.8412)
to prospectively increase the criminal and civil statutes of limitations
for a subset of sexual offenses committed against adults. Both bills
were predicated on the widespread recognition that New York's existing
statutes of limitations were insufficient in giving survivors of these
heinous crimes enough time to pursue justice through criminal charges or
filing .a civil lawsuit.
New Jersey similarly enacted legislation in 2019 that prospectively
increased the civil statute of limitations for both child and adult
survivors of sexual offenses, as well as created a two-year window for
the revival of otherwise time-barred lawsuits alleging conduct consti-
tuting specified sexual offenses. Unlike New York's revival window,
however, which applies only to survivors of sexual offenses who were
minors at the time of the abuse, the New Jersey window also applies to
survivors of sexual offenses who were adults (i.e. 18 or older) at the
time of the alleged conduct.
This legislation, the Adult Survivors Act, would create a one-year
window for the revival of otherwise time-barred civil claims arising out
of sexual offenses committed against people who were 18 or older at the
time of the conduct. Those who have had justice denied them as a result
of New York's formerly insufficient statutes of limitations should be
given the opportunity to seek civil redress against their abuser or
their abuser's enablers in a court of law.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2019-20: A.8726 - Referred to Judiciary; 5.6810 - Referred to Judiciary
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that section
three of this act shall take effect three months after this act shall
have become a law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
648--A
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 6, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. L. ROSENTHAL, WEPRIN, ABINANTI, GLICK, SIMON,
PAULIN, NIOU, HEVESI, CRUZ, EPSTEIN, WOERNER, BICHOTTE HERMELYN,
FERNANDEZ, BRONSON, TAYLOR, QUART, SEAWRIGHT, HUNTER, STECK, FRONTUS,
GUNTHER, PERRY, GONZALEZ-ROJAS, GALLAGHER, MAMDANI, CLARK, ANDERSON,
SEPTIMO, BURDICK, DICKENS, J. D. RIVERA, SILLITTI, DARLING, DINOWITZ,
FAHY, MITAYNES, RAMOS, REYES, SOLAGES, LUPARDO, KELLES, FORREST, KIM,
GOTTFRIED, GALEF, BARRETT, BURGOS, STIRPE, WALLACE, WALKER, JACKSON,
JACOBSON, McDONOUGH, BUTTENSCHON, McDONALD, AUBRY, DAVILA, BENEDETTO,
GIBBS -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. ENGLEBRIGHT, GRIFFIN -- read
once and referred to the Committee on Judiciary -- recommitted to the
Committee on Judiciary in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 --
committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and
recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the civil practice law and rules, in relation to the
statute of limitations for civil actions related to certain sexual
offenses committed against a person eighteen years of age or older,
reviving such actions otherwise barred by the existing statute of
limitations and granting trial preference to such actions; and to
amend the judiciary law, in relation to directing the chief adminis-
trator of the courts to promulgate rules for the timely adjudication
of certain revived actions
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The civil practice law and rules is amended by adding a new
2 section 214-j to read as follows:
3 § 214-j. Certain sexual offense actions. Notwithstanding any provision
4 of law which imposes a period of limitation to the contrary and the
5 provisions of any other law pertaining to the filing of a notice of
6 claim or a notice of intention to file a claim as a condition precedent
7 to commencement of an action or special proceeding, every civil claim or
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00387-03-2
A. 648--A 2
1 cause of action brought against any party alleging intentional or negli-
2 gent acts or omissions by a person for physical, psychological, or other
3 injury or condition suffered as a result of conduct which would consti-
4 tute a sexual offense as defined in article one hundred thirty of the
5 penal law committed against such person who was eighteen years of age or
6 older, or incest as defined in section 255.26 or 255.27 of the penal law
7 committed against such person who was eighteen years of age or older,
8 which is barred as of the effective date of this section because the
9 applicable period of limitation has expired, and/or the plaintiff previ-
10 ously failed to file a notice of claim or a notice of intention to file
11 a claim, is hereby revived, and action thereon may be commenced not
12 earlier than six months after, and not later than one year and six
13 months after the effective date of this section. In any such claim or
14 action, dismissal of a previous action, ordered before the effective
15 date of this section, on grounds that such previous action was time
16 barred, and/or for failure of a party to file a notice of claim or a
17 notice of intention to file a claim, shall not be grounds for dismissal
18 of a revival action pursuant to this section.
19 § 2. Paragraph 7 of subdivision (a) of rule 3403 of the civil practice
20 law and rules, as added by chapter 11 of the laws of 2019, is amended to
21 read as follows:
22 7. any action which has been revived pursuant to section two hundred
23 fourteen-g or two hundred fourteen-j of this chapter.
24 § 3. The judiciary law is amended by adding a new section 219-e to
25 read as follows:
26 § 219-e. Rules reviving certain actions; sexual offenses. The chief
27 administrator of the courts shall promulgate rules for the timely adju-
28 dication of revived actions brought pursuant to section two hundred
29 fourteen-j of the civil practice law and rules.
30 § 4. The provisions of this act shall be severable, and if any clause,
31 sentence, paragraph, subdivision or part of this act shall be adjudged
32 by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment
33 shall not affect, impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall
34 be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdi-
35 vision or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which
36 such judgment shall have been rendered.
37 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
38 section three of this act shall take effect three months after this act
39 shall have become a law.
