NYS lawmakers move to close unintended loophole in Adult Survivors Act

ALBANY — The State Legislature has closed an unintended loophole in a landmark law created to allow adult sexual abuse survivors to sue their abusers for incidents from years ago.

The change in a procedural provision of the Adult Survivors Act of 2022 was needed because of a concern the law unintentionally made some of the biggest potential defendants in the cases — governments — immune from the lawsuits.

The Adult Survivors Act had created a one-year “lookback” to allow survivors of sexual abuse in the public and private sectors to sue over abuse years and even decades ago, essentially eliminating the statutes of limitations on such crimes. As part of the law, legislators intended to end the requirement that “notices of claims” be filed shortly after the alleged abuse to legally declare a lawsuit was planned. The act follows the Child Victims Act of 2019, which allowed survivors of sexual abuse as children a lookback period to sue the people they blame for the abuse.

Advocates said survivors of sexual abuse often require years or decades to deal with the incidents personally before they could begin to go public and take any action against abusers who were authority figures.

The concern arose after a judge dismissed one of the first cases brought under the act, ruling a timely notice of claim is still required under a different state law that governs lawsuits against local governments. A notice of claim is a formal declaration of an intent to sue normally required soon after the incident that will be the subject of a lawsuit.

In response, the State Legislature in the closing hours of the session in June passed legislation that specifically stated victims suing governments over abuse years ago under the Adult Survivors Act aren’t barred from suing because they hadn’t filed a “notice of claim” shortly after the abuse.

Under the Adult Survivors Act, more than 3,200 New Yorkers have filed lawsuits during the lookback period that ended in November. Lawsuits have been started by clients of state-funded group homes, former government employees, inmates who said they were abused by correction officers and people served by government agencies.

Now the cases are starting to come to court.

In April, a Wayne County judge dismissed a case brought under the act, ruling the Legislature didn’t specifically suspend the need for a timely notice of claim that is required under state   General Municipal Law. That’s the law under which local governments are sued.

That same month, however, a Rockland County judge ruled the other way. The Rockland County judge rejected a motion by that county to dismiss a case based on a similar view stated by the Wayne County judge. The Rockland County judge said the intent of the Legislature in crafting the 2022 Adult Survivors Act was clear and no notice of claim was needed.

The Wayne County judge’s decision was apparently the first to dismiss a case under the Adult Survivors Act over the notice of claim, legislators said.

There was no immediate comment from the state Attorney General’s Office, which represents the state in such lawsuits.

“I think the judge in Wayne County didn’t read the bill and made his own assumptions,” Assemb. Linda Rosenthal (D-Manhattan), told Newsday.

She is a prime sponsor of the Adult Survivors Act, as well as the amending legislation in June. The June legislation directly states the Adult Survivors law suspends the need for a notice of claim for “any claim,” including those made against the state under the Court of Claims Act and against local governments under the General Municipal Law.

“Conflicting court rulings must not imperil the ability of survivors to hold their abusers accountable,” Rosenthal said. “Blocking cases from moving ahead over the lack of a notice of claim not only flies in the face of the law, it re-victimizes those survivors who spent years grappling with the abuse they suffered and the difficult decision to come forward.”

On June 7, the last day of the 2024 legislative session, the Assembly gave final legislative approval of the bill. Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the bill into law June 28.

“With this clarification now signed into law, Adult Survivors Act cases will be able to proceed without delay and survivors around the state will have the shot at justice that they deserve,” Rosenthal said.

By Michael Gormley

michael.gormley@newsday.com@GormleyAlbany

Michael Gormley has worked for Newsday since 2013, covering state government, politics and issues. He has covered Albany since 2001.