Earlier today, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed the Adult Survivors Act (S.66A/A.648A), which creates a one-year window for the revival of otherwise time-barred civil lawsuits based on sexual abuse crimes committed against individuals who were 18 years of age or older when the abuse occurred.
The Act will be codified as Section 214-j of the New York Civil Practice Law and Rules (“CPLR”). Its one-year revival window will commence on November 24, 2022, six months from the Act’s effective date, in order to give courts time to promulgate rules specific to actions revived by the Act and to prepare for a likely influx of new filings.
The legislation is a counterpart to the Child Victims Act (“CVA”), enacted in 2019, which created a similar window for the revival of time-barred abuse claims, but was limited to abuse that occurred when the victims were under the age of 18.
According to the Office of Court Administration, the one-year lookback window under the CVA, which was ultimately extended by one additional year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, resulted in over 10,000 new lawsuit filings.
If you have questions regarding any implications of this law or its potential impact on your institution please feel free to contact James Ryan, Jennifer McLaughlin, and Michael Weiss.
Please note that this is a general overview of the law and no content within this excerpt constitutes legal advice. Nothing herein creates an attorney-client relationship between the sender and recipient.