Adult Survivors Act

The Adult Survivors Act (ASA) is New York State legislation enacted in May 2022 which amends state law to allow alleged victims of sexual offenses for which the statute of limitations has lapsed to file civil suits for a one-year period, from November 24, 2022, to November 24, 2023. The act thus expands the ability of plaintiffs to sue for sexual assault and unwanted sexual contact in the workplace.[1]

Adult Survivors Act
New York State Legislature
Full nameAN 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 administrator of the courts to promulgate rules for the timely adjudication of certain revived actions
IntroducedJanuary 6, 2021
Assembly votedMay 23, 2022
Senate votedApril 26, 2022
Signed into lawMay 24, 2022
Sponsor(s)Senator Brad Hoylman
GovernorKathy Hochul
CodeCivil Practice Law and Rules
Section214-j
ResolutionS66A
Associated billsA648A
WebsiteText of the bill
Status: Current legislation

Background and enactment

Before 2019, a three-year statute of limitations applied to civil suits for sexual misconduct in New York. In 2019, New York extended the statute of limitations for civil suits arising from sex crimes against adults to 20 years, but this extension was not retroactive.[2]

In 2022, the ASA was enacted. The bill was sponsored by state Senator Brad Hoylman and Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal.[3] It unanimously passed the Senate in April 2022, passed the Assembly on a 140–3 vote in May 2022,[4] and was signed into law by Governor Kathy Hochul.[5]

Provisions

The ASA amended New York's Civil Practice Law and Rules to allow alleged victims of sexual offenses for which the statute of limitations had lapsed to file civil suits for a one-year period (the "lookback window"), from November 24, 2022, to November 24, 2023.[1][6] The ASA is modeled after the New York Child Victims Act of 2019, which established a one-year window (later extended by an additional year) for victims of child sexual abuse to sue, raising claims that otherwise would have been barred by the statute of limitations.[2]

Notable cases

By May 2023, roughly halfway through the lookback period, about 130 civil lawsuits were filed under the ASA, according to statistics from the New York State Office of Court Administration.[2] The number of ASA suits filed is lower than the number of Child Victims Act suits filed.[6]

On the day the law took effect, writer E. Jean Carroll filed a suit against businessman and politician Donald Trump, the U.S. president, for defamation and battery.[7] On May 9, 2023, a jury in a Manhattan federal court found that Trump defamed and sexually abused Carroll, ordering Trump to pay her $5 million in damages.[8]

In 2022, five women used the ASA to sue NBC and Bill Cosby; in the complaint, the women sued Cosby for assault, battery, false imprisonment, and intentional infliction of emotional distress, and sued NBC (which at the time produced The Cosby Show) for negligence. The women allege that Cosby sexually assaulted them at various points from 1969 to 1992.[9][10]

Almost a thousand imprisoned and formerly imprisoned women in New York have filed claims under the ASA, alleging that guards raped or sexually abused them in prisons and jails. A significant proportion of these ASA claims were raised by former inmates of the Bayview Correctional Facility, which was closed in 2012. A federal survey in 2008 and 2009 found that Bayview had one of the U.S.'s highest rates of prison staff-perpetrated sexual abuse.[11]

In May 2023, an ex-employee of former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani sued him for alleged sexual battery.[12]

References
  1. Haigh, Emily; Messinger, Liran (February 22, 2023). "New York Eliminates Time Limitations for Sexual Assault Claims". SHRM. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  2. Kate Murphy, New York law gives adult sex abuse survivors more time to sue. But does it go far enough?, Yahoo News (May 10, 2023).
  3. Kate Lisa, New York Assembly secures votes to pass Adult Survivors Act, Spectrum News (May 2022).
  4. Grace Ashford, New York Will Allow Adult Victims to Revive Decades-Old Sex Abuse Claims, New York Times (May 23, 2022).
  5. Governor Hochul Signs Adult Survivors Act, Office of the Governor, New York (May 24, 2022).
  6. Emily Saul, Adult Survivors Act Hasn't Created a Surge of Claims, With Just Dozens Filed in NY, New York Law Journal (February 17, 2023).
  7. Scannell, Kara (November 24, 2022). "E. Jean Carroll sues Trump for battery and defamation as lookback window for adult sex abuse survivors' suits opens in New York". CNN. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  8. Queen, Jack; Cohen, Luc (May 9, 2023). "Jury finds Trump sexually abused writer E. Jean Carroll, awards her $5 mln". Reuters. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
  9. Shawna Chen, 5 women sue Bill Cosby, NBC over sexual assault under Adult Survivors Act, Axios (December 6, 2022).
  10. Eric Levenson, 5 women sue Bill Cosby for sexual assault and abuse under new NY lookback law, CNN (December 6, 2022).
  11. Molly Hagen, New York's Imprisoned Women Brave Risks to Sue Sexual Abusers Under New Law, The Appeal April 18, 2023.
  12. Klasfeld, Adam (May 15, 2023). "Donald Trump crony Rudy Giuliani faces sexual abuse lawsuit using same law that scored E. Jean Carroll $5M against ex-president". Law & Crime. Retrieved May 15, 2023.
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