Bill Text: NY A01175 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Establishes the period of limitation for the prosecution of a sex offense defined in article 130 of the penal law, incest or use of a child in a sexual performance committed against a person less than eighteen years of age shall not begin to run until the person has reached the age of twenty-three or the offense is reported to law enforcement or the statewide central register of child abuse and maltreatment, whichever occurs earlier; allows civil claims or causes of action brought by any person for physical, psychological or other injury or condition suffered as a result of conduct that is a sex offense as defined in article 130 of the penal law, incest or use of a child in a sexual performance committed against a child who was less than eighteen years of age at the time shall be allowed to be commenced five years after the child reaches the age of twenty-three; revives for 1 year, any such civil claim or cause of action which was barred because the applicable statute of limitations expired.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - referred to codes [A01175 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A01175-Introduced.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          1175
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                    January 14, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  M.  of  A. M. G. MILLER -- read once and referred to the
          Committee on Codes
        AN ACT to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to  the  timeli-
          ness  of  prosecutions  for  certain  sex offenses; to amend the civil
          practice law and rules, in relation to the timeliness  for  commencing
          certain civil actions related to sex offenses; and to amend the gener-
          al  municipal law, in relation to claims against a city, county, town,
          village, fire district or school district
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section  1.  Paragraph  (f)  of  subdivision 3 of section 30.10 of the
     2  criminal procedure law, as separately amended by chapters 3 and  320  of
     3  the laws of 2006, is amended to read as follows:
     4    (f)  For  purposes  of  a  prosecution  involving  a sexual offense as
     5  defined in article one hundred thirty of the penal  law,  other  than  a
     6  sexual  offense  delineated  in paragraph (a) of subdivision two of this
     7  section, committed against a child less  than  eighteen  years  of  age,
     8  incest  in  the  first,  second  or  third degree as defined in sections
     9  255.27, 255.26 and 255.25 of the penal law  committed  against  a  child
    10  less  than eighteen years of age, or use of a child in a sexual perform-
    11  ance as defined in section 263.05 of the penal law, the period of  limi-
    12  tation  shall  not  begin  to run until the child has reached the age of
    13  [eighteen] twenty-three or the offense is reported to a law  enforcement
    14  agency  or  statewide  central register of child abuse and maltreatment,
    15  whichever occurs earlier.
    16    § 2. The opening paragraph of section 208 of the  civil  practice  law
    17  and  rules  is  designated  subdivision (a) and a new subdivision (b) is
    18  added to read as follows:
    19    (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (a) of this section,
    20  with respect to all civil claims or causes  of  action  brought  by  any
    21  person for physical, psychological or other injury or condition suffered
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00341-01-9

        A. 1175                             2
     1  as  a  result  of  conduct  which  would  constitute a sexual offense as
     2  defined in article one hundred thirty of the penal law committed against
     3  a child less than eighteen years of age, incest as  defined  in  section
     4  255.25, 255.26 or 255.27 of the penal law committed against a child less
     5  than  eighteen  years of age, or the use of a child in a sexual perform-
     6  ance as defined in section 263.05 of the penal  law,  or  a  predecessor
     7  statute  that  prohibited  such  conduct  at  the time of the act, which
     8  conduct was committed against a child less than eighteen years  of  age,
     9  the  time  which the action must be commenced shall be when one knows or
    10  reasonably should have known of the alleged criminal act  and  knows  or
    11  should have known that the criminal act caused injury within three years
    12  of the discovery of the injury.
    13    §  3.  The  civil  practice  law  and rules is amended by adding a new
    14  section 3012-c to  read as follows:
    15    § 3012-c. Certain child sexual abuse cases; certificate of merit.  (a)
    16  Notwithstanding  any  provision of law which imposes a period of limita-
    17  tion to the contrary, every civil claim or cause of action brought by  a
    18  person  for  physical,  psychological,  or  other  injury  or  condition
    19  suffered as a result of conduct which would constitute a sexual  offense
    20  as  defined  in  article  one  hundred thirty of the penal law committed
    21  against a child less than eighteen years of age, incest  as  defined  in
    22  section  255.25,  255.26  or 255.27 of the penal law committed against a
    23  child less than eighteen years of age, or the use of a child in a sexual
    24  performance as defined in section 263.05 of the penal law, or  a  prede-
    25  cessor  statute  that  prohibited  such  conduct at the time of the act,
    26  which conduct was committed against a child less than eighteen years  of
    27  age,  which  is  barred as of the effective date of this section because
    28  the applicable period of limitation has expired is hereby  revived,  and
    29  action  thereon  may be commenced provided that such action is commenced
    30  within one year of the effective date of this section.
    31    (b) In any action brought pursuant to subdivision (a) of this  section
    32  for  physical, psychological, or other injury or condition suffered as a
    33  result of conduct which would constitute a sexual offense  as  described
    34  in  subdivision  (a) of this section, the complaint shall be accompanied
    35  by a certificate of merit  as  described  in  subdivision  (c)  of  this
    36  section.
    37    (c)  A  certificate of merit filed pursuant to subdivision (b) of this
    38  section shall be filed by the  attorney  for  the  plaintiff  and  shall
    39  contain a notarized statement by a qualified psychiatrist, as defined in
    40  section  9.01  of  the  mental  hygiene  law, a psychologist as licensed
    41  pursuant to article one hundred fifty-three of the education law,  or  a
    42  person in the practice of mental health counseling, as defined in subdi-
    43  vision  one of section eighty-four hundred two of the education law, who
    44  is knowledgeable in the  relevant  facts  and  issues  involved  in  the
    45  particular  action,  and states in reasonable detail the facts and opin-
    46  ions that the person has relied upon for  concluding  that  there  is  a
    47  reasonable  basis  to believe that the plaintiff has been subject to one
    48  or more acts of child sexual abuse of the type described in  subdivision
    49  (a)  of  this  section. The person providing such statement may not be a
    50  party to the litigation.
    51    (d) Where a certificate is required pursuant to this section, a single
    52  certificate shall be filed for  each  action,  even  if  more  than  one
    53  defendant has been named in the complaint or is subsequently named.
    54    §  4. Section 50-i of the general municipal law is amended by adding a
    55  new subdivision 5 to read as follows:

        A. 1175                             3
     1    5. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, this  section
     2  shall not apply to any claim made against a city, county, town, village,
     3  fire  district  or school district for physical, psychological, or other
     4  injury or condition suffered as a result of conduct of a defendant which
     5  would  constitute  a  sexual  offense  as defined in article one hundred
     6  thirty of the penal law committed against a  child  less  than  eighteen
     7  years  of age, incest as defined in section 255.25, 255.26, or 255.27 of
     8  the penal law committed against a child less than eighteen years of age,
     9  or the use of a child in a sexual  performance  as  defined  in  section
    10  263.05  of  the  penal  law committed against a child less than eighteen
    11  years of age.
    12    § 5. The provisions of this act shall be severable, and if any clause,
    13  sentence, paragraph, subdivision or part of this act shall  be  adjudged
    14  by  any  court  of  competent  jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment
    15  shall not affect, impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall
    16  be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph,  subdi-
    17  vision  or  part  thereof  directly involved in the controversy in which
    18  such judgment shall have been rendered.
    19    § 6. This act shall take effect  immediately,  provided  that  section
    20  three  of  this act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after this act
    21  shall have become a law.
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