NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A1641
SPONSOR: Rosenthal TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the civil practice law and rules, in relation to remov-
ing the statute of limitations in civil actions involving certain child
sexual assault offenses
PURPOSE:
To eliminate the civil statute of limitations in child sexual assault
cases.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section one amends subdivision (b) of section 208 of the civil practice
law and rules.
Section two amends section 213-c of the civil practice law and rules.
Section three amends section 214-g of the civil practice law and rules.
Section four establishes the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
According to data from the Crimes Against Children Research Center, 1 in
5 girls and 1 in 20 boys are victims of sexual assault. A 2003 National
Institute of Justice report found that 3 out of 4 children who have been
sexually assaulted were abused by a person they know well. Child sexual
assault is an epidemic, and the majority of survivors are so traumatized
by their abuse that it takes them decades to disclose their abuse, if
they ever do. Survivors are threatened with harm, groomed for years to
believe the abuse is their fault, fear that they will not be believed or
will be shamed, and others are simply too young to understand or express
what has happened to them. In many cases, by the time a child comes
forward about their sexual assault, the statute of limitations has
expired, and survivors are left with no recourse. The short statute of
limitations in childhood sexual assault cases also ensures that danger-
ous predators remain free to abuse other children if they beat the
clock. Sadly, we have seen this play out time and time again, with
horrific consequences for so many innocent children whose lives are
shattered.
The Child Victims Act, which became law in 2019, extended New York
State's statute of limitations on childhood sexual assault cases to age
28 for a person bringing a criminal case and age 55 for a person bring-
ing a civil case. This law also opened a look back period for victims
who were previously time-barred to bring a civil case, no matter how
long ago the abuse occurred. During this lookback period, nearly 11,000
cases were filed. However, countless survivors of childhood sexual
assault around the state are still bound by an arbitrarily short statute
of limitations which misunderstands the nature of their trauma and
exposes the public to an unreasonable risk of harm.
In order to conclusively address childhood sexual abuse, we must ensure
that the law allows survivors to come forward and seek justice whenever
they are comfortable and safe to do so, regardless of how many years
have elapsed. This legislation will provide survivors the opportunity to
be heard by eliminating the civil statute of limitations on child sexual
assault cases.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023-24: A.1854-A - Referred to Codes
2021-22: A.618-A - Referred to Codes
2019-20: A.8745 - Referred to Codes
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Undetermined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1641
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 10, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ROSENTHAL, DAVILA, BICHOTTE HERMELYN, SIMON,
WOERNER, SHRESTHA -- read once and referred to the Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the civil practice law and rules, in relation to remov-
ing the statute of limitations in civil actions involving certain
child sexual assault offenses
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision (b) of section 208 of the civil practice law
2 and rules, as added by chapter 11 of the laws of 2019, is amended to
3 read as follows:
4 (b) Notwithstanding any provision of law which imposes a period of
5 limitation to the contrary and the provisions of any other law pertain-
6 ing to the filing of a notice of claim or a notice of intention to file
7 a claim as a condition precedent to commencement of an action or special
8 proceeding, with respect to all civil claims or causes of action brought
9 by any person for physical, psychological or other injury or condition
10 suffered by such person as a result of conduct which would constitute a
11 sexual offense as defined in article one hundred thirty of the penal law
12 committed against such person who was less than eighteen years of age,
13 incest as defined in section 255.27, 255.26 or 255.25 of the penal law
14 committed against such person who was less than eighteen years of age,
15 or the use of such person in a sexual performance as defined in section
16 263.05 of the penal law, or a predecessor statute that prohibited such
17 conduct at the time of the act, which conduct was committed against such
18 person who was less than eighteen years of age, such action may be
19 commenced, against any party whose intentional or negligent acts or
20 omissions are alleged to have resulted in the commission of said
21 conduct, [on or before] by the plaintiff or infant plaintiff [reaches
22 the age of fifty-five years] at any time. In any such claim or action,
23 in addition to any other defense and affirmative defense that may be
24 available in accordance with law, rule or the common law, to the extent
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04163-01-5
A. 1641 2
1 that the acts alleged in such action are of the type described in subdi-
2 vision one of section 130.30 of the penal law or subdivision one of the
3 former section 130.45 of the penal law, the affirmative defenses set
4 forth, respectively, in the closing paragraph of such sections of the
5 penal law shall apply.
6 § 2. Section 213-c of the civil practice law and rules, as amended by
7 chapter 23 of the laws of 2024, is amended to read as follows:
8 § 213-c. Action by victim of conduct constituting certain sexual
9 offenses. (a) Notwithstanding any other limitation set forth in this
10 article, except as provided in subdivision (b) of section two hundred
11 eight of this article, all civil claims or causes of action brought by
12 any person for physical, psychological or other injury or condition
13 suffered by such person as a result of conduct which would constitute
14 rape in the first degree as defined in section 130.35 of the penal law,
15 or rape in the second degree as defined in subdivision four, five or six
16 of section 130.30 of the penal law, or rape in the second degree as
17 defined in former subdivision two of section 130.30 of the penal law, or
18 rape in the third degree as defined in subdivision one, two, three,
19 seven, eight or nine of section 130.25 of the penal law, or a crime
20 formerly defined in section 130.50 of the penal law, or a crime formerly
21 defined in subdivision two of section 130.45 of the penal law, or a
22 crime formerly defined in subdivision one or three of section 130.40 of
23 the penal law, or incest in the first degree as defined in section
24 255.27 of the penal law, or incest in the second degree as defined in
25 section 255.26 of the penal law (where the crime committed is rape in
26 the second degree as defined in subdivision four, five or six of section
27 130.30 of the penal law, or rape in the second degree as formerly
28 defined in subdivision two of section 130.30 of the penal law, or a
29 crime formerly defined in subdivision two of section 130.45 of the penal
30 law), or aggravated sexual abuse in the first degree as defined in
31 section 130.70 of the penal law, or course of sexual conduct against a
32 child in the first degree as defined in section 130.75 of the penal law
33 may be brought against any party whose intentional or negligent acts or
34 omissions are alleged to have resulted in the commission of the said
35 conduct, within twenty years.
36 (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (a) of this section,
37 or any other provision of law to the contrary, all civil claims or caus-
38 es of action brought by any person for physical, psychological or other
39 injury or condition suffered as a result of conduct which would consti-
40 tute a sexual offense as defined in article one hundred thirty of the
41 penal law committed against a child less than eighteen years of age,
42 incest as defined in section 255.25, 255.26 or 255.27 of the penal law
43 committed against a child less than eighteen years of age, or the use of
44 a child in a sexual performance as defined in section 263.05 of the
45 penal law, or a predecessor statute that prohibited such conduct at the
46 time of the act, which conduct was committed against a child less than
47 eighteen years of age, such action may be commenced at any time.
48 (c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require that a crim-
49 inal charge be brought or a criminal conviction be obtained as a condi-
50 tion of bringing a civil cause of action or receiving a civil judgment
51 pursuant to this section or be construed to require that any of the
52 rules governing a criminal proceeding be applicable to any such civil
53 action.
54 § 3. Section 214-g of the civil practice law and rules, as amended by
55 chapter 130 of the laws of 2020, is amended to read as follows:
A. 1641 3
1 § 214-g. Certain child sexual abuse cases. Notwithstanding any
2 provision of law which imposes a period of limitation to the contrary
3 and the provisions of any other law pertaining to the filing of a notice
4 of claim or a notice of intention to file a claim as a condition prece-
5 dent to commencement of an action or special proceeding, every civil
6 claim or cause of action brought against any party alleging intentional
7 or negligent acts or omissions by a person for physical, psychological,
8 or other injury or condition suffered as a result of conduct which would
9 constitute a sexual offense as defined in article one hundred thirty of
10 the penal law committed against a child less than eighteen years of age,
11 incest as defined in section 255.27, 255.26 or 255.25 of the penal law
12 committed against a child less than eighteen years of age, or the use of
13 a child in a sexual performance as defined in section 263.05 of the
14 penal law, or a predecessor statute that prohibited such conduct at the
15 time of the act, which conduct was committed against a child less than
16 eighteen years of age, which is barred as of the effective date of this
17 section because the applicable period of limitation has expired, and/or
18 the plaintiff previously failed to file a notice of claim or a notice of
19 intention to file a claim, is hereby revived, and action thereon may be
20 commenced not earlier than six months after[, and not later than two
21 years and six months after] the effective date of this section. In any
22 such claim or action: (a) in addition to any other defense and affirma-
23 tive defense that may be available in accordance with law, rule or the
24 common law, to the extent that the acts alleged in such action are of
25 the type described in subdivision one of section 130.30 of the penal law
26 or subdivision one of the former section 130.45 of the penal law, the
27 affirmative defenses set forth, respectively, in the closing paragraph
28 of such sections of the penal law shall apply; and (b) dismissal of a
29 previous action, ordered before the effective date of this section, on
30 grounds that such previous action was time barred, and/or for failure of
31 a party to file a notice of claim or a notice of intention to file a
32 claim, shall not be grounds for dismissal of a revival action pursuant
33 to this section.
34 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
