STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
2170
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 20, 2021
___________
Introduced by Sen. SEPULVEDA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the civil rights law, in relation to the imposition of
penalties and remedies in suits brought for the vindication of civil
rights or human rights
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Article 10 and sections 100 and 101 of the civil rights
2 law, as renumbered by chapter 263 of the laws of 2019, are renumbered
3 article 11 and sections 110 and 111 and a new article 10 is added to
4 read as follows:
5 ARTICLE 10
6 PENALTIES AND REMEDIES
7 Section 100. Penalties and remedies.
8 § 100. Penalties and remedies. 1. Every person who, under color of any
9 statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of this state,
10 subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of this state or other
11 person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights,
12 privileges, or immunities secured by the constitution and laws of this
13 state, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in
14 equity, or other proper proceeding for redress, except that in any
15 action brought against a judicial officer for an act or omission taken
16 in such officer's judicial capacity, injunctive relief shall not be
17 granted unless a declaratory decree was violated or declaratory relief
18 was unavailable.
19 2. The supreme court of the state of New York shall have jurisdiction
20 over all suits brought for the vindication of civil rights as provided
21 in subdivision one of this section. To the extent that the laws of the
22 state of New York furnish a remedy for the vindication of such civil
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04042-01-1
S. 2170 2
1 rights, such laws shall be applied; but in all cases where such laws are
2 deficient in the provisions necessary to furnish suitable remedies, the
3 common law shall be extended to and govern the said courts in the trial
4 and disposition of the matter.
5 3. (a) In any action or proceeding to enforce this section or the New
6 York human rights law, the court must award the prevailing party, other
7 than the state of New York, a reasonable attorney's fee as part of the
8 costs, except that in any action brought against a judicial officer for
9 an act or omission taken in such officer's judicial capacity such offi-
10 cer shall not be held liable for any costs, including attorney's fees,
11 unless such action was clearly in excess of such officer's jurisdiction.
12 (b) In awarding an attorney's fee under paragraph (a) of this subdivi-
13 sion in any action or proceeding to enforce a provision of this article,
14 the court shall include reasonable expert fees as part of the attorney's
15 fee.
16 4. This article shall supplement and not displace any jurisdiction
17 currently existing in the courts or administrative agencies of this
18 state to the extent that other laws of this state already provide a
19 remedy for the type of injury referred to in this section.
20 5. In interpreting this section, the courts may consider the fundamen-
21 tal principles already enunciated by the federal courts in interpreting
22 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1988, which are the parallel federal civil rights
23 laws.
24 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
25 have become a law.
