Adult Survivors Act | |
---|---|
New York State Legislature | |
Full name | 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 administrator of the courts to promulgate rules for the timely adjudication of certain revived actions |
Introduced | January 6, 2021 |
Assembly voted | May 23, 2022 |
Senate voted | April 26, 2022 |
Signed into law | May 24, 2022 |
Sponsor(s) | Senator Brad Hoylman |
Governor | Kathy Hochul |
Code | Civil Practice Law and Rules |
Section | 214-j |
Resolution | S66A |
Associated bills | A648A |
Website | Text of the act |
Status: Current legislation |
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]
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]
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]
Roughly halfway through the lookback period, relatively few civil lawsuits had been filed under the ASA. [2] [6] However, a large number of ASA complaints were filed just before the lookback period ended on November 24, 2023. [7] [8] [9] Ultimately, more than 3,000 suits were filed under the ASA. [9]
Complaints against State of New York under the ASA were filed in the Court of Claims; as of November 17, 2023, 1,469 claims had been filed in the Court of Claims, mostly naming the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision as a defendant. [10] The many imprisoned and formerly imprisoned women in New York who filed claims under the ASA alleged 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] At least 479 suits filed under the ASA alleged abuse at Rikers Island jail complex. [9]
By November 22, 2023 (just before the close of the lookback period) the number of suits in New York Supreme Court reached 1,397. [9] 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. [12] On May 9, 2023, a jury in Manhattan federal court found that Trump defamed and sexually abused Carroll, ordering Trump to pay her $5 million in damages. [13]
New York City hospitals and health systems were named as defendants in at least 300 lawsuits filed under the ASA. [14]
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. [15] [16] Another woman sued Cosby, NBCUniversal, Kaufman Astoria Studios, and The Carsey-Werner Company in November 2023 under the ASA; the plaintiff alleged that, while she was working as a stand-in at The Cosby Show in the 1980s, Cosby drugged and sexually abused her. [17]
In May 2023, an ex-employee of former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani sued him for alleged sexual battery. [18]
On November 16, 2023, singer Cassie Ventura sued Sean "Diddy" Combs under the Act, alleging that Combs subjected her to a decade-long "cycle of abuse, violence and sex trafficking" not long after they met in 2005. One day after the complaint was filed, the parties settled the suit on undisclosed terms; Combs did not admit any wrongdoing. [19] [10] A second woman sued Combs in November 2023; the woman, who briefly appeared with Combs in a music video, alleged that he sexually assaulted her in 1991. Combs denied the allegation. [20]
In November 2023, musician Axl Rose was sued by Sheila Kennedy, who alleged that Rose sexually assaulted her in 1989. Kennedy previously alleged being assaulted by Rose in her 2016 memoir No One's Pet and in the 2021 documentary Look Away , which covered women who claimed to be sexually abused in the music industry. Rose denied the claim. [21]
In November 2023, an unidentified Jane Doe plaintiff sued Jamie Foxx under the ASA, alleging that Foxx groped her at a rooftop lounge in Manhattan in 2015. [22]
In June 2023, actor Cuba Gooding Jr. settled an ASA lawsuit against him, brought by a woman who accused him of a rape in 2013. [7] In November 2023, two other women filed separate complaints against Gooding; one alleged a sexual assault and battery in 2018, the other in 2019. [7]
Actor Sebastian Chacon was accused by three women for rape between 2017 and 2022. [23]
In November 2023, former Governor Andrew Cuomo was sued by his former executive assistant Brittany Commisso on the last day of the law's window. Commisso had previously filed a misdemeanor criminal complaint against Cuomo for forcible touching in 2021 but was later dismissed. [24]
In November 2023, a former New York City employee sued Mayor Eric Adams, alleging that he sexually assaulted her in 1993, when he was a New York City Transit Police officer. Adams denied the allegation and said he did not recall meeting the accuser. [25]
Sean Love Combs, also known by his stage names Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, or Diddy, is an American rapper, record producer and record executive. Born in Harlem and raised in Mount Vernon, New York, Combs worked as a talent director at Uptown Records before founding his own record label, Bad Boy Records, in 1993. Combs has been credited with the discovery and cultivation of artists such as the Notorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige, and Usher.
The Diocese of Metuchen is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic church in the borough of Metuchen in New Jersey in the United States.
Elizabeth Jean Carroll is an American journalist, author, and advice columnist. Her "Ask E. Jean" column appeared in Elle magazine from 1993 through 2019, becoming one of the longest-running advice columns in American publishing.
Catholic Church sexual abuse cases in Canada are well documented dating back to the 1960s. The preponderance of criminal cases with Canadian Catholic dioceses named as defendants that have surfaced since the 1980s strongly indicate that these cases were far more widespread than previously believed. While recent media reports have centred on Newfoundland dioceses, there have been reported cases—tested in court with criminal convictions—in almost all Canadian provinces. Sexual assault is the act of an individual touching another individual sexually and/or committing sexual activities forcefully and/or without the other person's consent. The phrase Catholic sexual abuse cases refers to acts of sexual abuse, typically child sexual abuse, by members of authority in the Catholic church, such as priests. Such cases have been occurring sporadically since the 11th century in Catholic churches around the world. This article summarizes some of the most notable Catholic sexual abuse cases in Canadian provinces.
Brad Madison Hoylman-Sigal is an American Democratic politician. First elected in 2012, Hoylman-Sigal represents the 47th District in the New York State Senate, covering much of the west side of Manhattan in New York City. He is chairman of the state senate Judiciary Committee.
The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with 2.3 million youth members and approximately 889,000 adult volunteers in 2017. In 1979 there were over 5 million youths in BSA.
In late 2014, multiple allegations emerged that Bill Cosby, an American media personality, had sexually assaulted dozens of women throughout his career. Cosby was well known in the United States for his eccentric image, and gained a reputation as "America's Dad" for his portrayal of Cliff Huxtable on The Cosby Show (1984–1992). He received numerous awards and honorary degrees throughout his career, many of which have since been revoked.
Andrea Constand v. William H. Cosby, Jr. is a civil suit filed in March 2005 and resolved with an undisclosed cash settlement in November 2006. It was later revealed that the amount paid to Constand was $3.38 million. The case was filed by Andrea Constand, a former college and Canadian national team basketball player, against comedian and entertainer Bill Cosby, concerning a sexual assault that occurred in Cosby's home in January 2004 while Constand was working for Temple University women's basketball team in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At that time, no criminal charges were filed.
Kesha v. Dr. Luke refers to a series of lawsuits and countersuits between the singer Kesha Rose Sebert (Kesha) and the music producer Lukasz Sebastian Gottwald. Sebert filed a civil suit against Gottwald in October 2014 for infliction of emotional distress, sex-based hate crimes and employment discrimination. Gottwald filed a lawsuit in New York Supreme Court in which he sued Sebert and her mother, Rosemary Patricia "Pebe" Sebert, for defamation and breach of contract.
Levy Konigsberg is an American-based law firm that was established in 1985. The company is known for a number of high-profile cases in the United States. Its practice areas include asbestos litigation, qui tam, lead poisoning, sexual abuse, tobacco litigation, medical malpractice, and negligence. In 2015, Levy Konigsberg was recognized as one of the 50 Law Firms in the 2015 Elite Trial Lawyers list by The National Law Journal.
Mormon abuse cases are cases of confirmed and alleged abuse, including child sexual abuse, by churches in the Latter Day Saint movement and its agents.
From the 1970s until he was elected president in 2016, Donald Trump and his businesses were involved in over 4,000 legal cases in U.S. federal and state courts, including battles with casino patrons, million-dollar real estate lawsuits, personal defamation lawsuits, and over 100 business tax disputes. He has also been accused of sexual harassment and sexual assault, with one accusation resulting in Trump being held civilly liable.
Donald Trump, the president of the United States from 2017 to 2021, has been accused of rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment, including non-consensual kissing or groping, by at least 25 women since the 1970s.
The following is a list of notable lawsuits involving former United States president Donald Trump. The list excludes cases that only name Trump as a legal formality in his capacity as president, such as habeas corpus requests.
There have been many reported cases and accusations of sexual abuse in the American film industry reported against people related to the medium of cinema of the United States.
Douglas Holden Wigdor is a founding partner of the law firm Wigdor LLP, and works as a litigator in New York City, specializing in anti-discrimination law. Wigdor is best known for representing seven victims of alleged sexual abuse by Harvey Weinstein, the hotel maid in the Dominique Strauss-Kahn sexual assault case, over twenty employees at Fox News in sexual harassment and discrimination cases, and NFL coaches Brian Flores, Steve Wilks, and Ray Horton in a 2022 class action lawsuit against the National Football League alleging racist and discriminatory practices against Black coaches.
Virginia Louise Giuffre is an American-Australian campaigner who offers support to victims of sex trafficking. She is an alleged victim of the sex trafficking ring of Jeffrey Epstein. Giuffre created Victims Refuse Silence, a non-profit based in the United States, in 2015, which was relaunched under the name Speak Out, Act, Reclaim (SOAR) in November 2021. She has given a detailed account to many American and British reporters about her experiences of being trafficked by Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
Phoenix Rising is an American documentary miniseries directed and produced by Amy J. Berg. It follows Evan Rachel Wood as she tells her story of domestic violence and her campaign for justice. It aired on March 15–16, 2022, on HBO.
Joseph Cammarata is an American attorney mainly known for handling the high-profile case against President Bill Clinton, in which he represented Paula Jones in a sexual harassment lawsuit against President Clinton. Cammarata also represented seven women who alleged they were sexually assaulted by Bill Cosby in a defamation lawsuit.
E. Jean Carroll v. Donald J. Trump is the name of two related lawsuits by author E. Jean Carroll against Donald Trump, who served as the 45th president of the United States. The two suits resulted in a total of $88.3 million in damages awarded to Carroll; both cases are under appeal. Both cases, presided over by Judge Lewis Kaplan, related to Carroll's accusation from mid-2019 that he sexually assaulted her in late 1995 or early 1996. Trump denied the allegations, prompting Carroll to sue him for defamation in November 2019.