Bill Text: NY A04331 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Provides a civil action for deprivation of rights which is caused by any person or public entity.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 45-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - referred to judiciary [A04331 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-A04331-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          4331

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    February 1, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. HUNTER, GOTTFRIED, REYES, SIMON, EPSTEIN -- read
          once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Operations

        AN ACT to amend the civil rights law, in relation to providing  a  civil
          action for deprivation of rights

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. The civil rights law is amended by  adding  a  new  section
     2  79-q to read as follows:
     3    §  79-q.  Civil  action for deprivation of rights.  1. (a) A person or
     4  public entity acting under color of law that subjects or  causes  to  be
     5  subjected any other person to the deprivation of any rights, privileges,
     6  or  immunities  secured by the federal or state Constitution or laws, is
     7  liable to the injured party for legal or equitable relief or  any  other
     8  appropriate  relief.   For the purposes of this section, a public entity
     9  subjects, or causes to be subjected, any person to  the  deprivation  of
    10  any  rights,  privileges,  or immunities secured by the federal or state
    11  Constitution or laws, by employing any person who violates this section.
    12    (b) Notwithstanding any other law  to  the  contrary,  in  any  action
    13  brought  pursuant  to  this  section or the New York human rights law, a
    14  court shall award reasonable attorney fees and  costs  to  a  prevailing
    15  plaintiff.  For  the  purposes  of  this  section, the term "prevailing"
    16  includes a plaintiff whose commencement of litigation  has  acted  as  a
    17  catalyst  to  effect  change  in  the defendant's conduct, regardless of
    18  whether that change has been implemented as a result of  a  judgment  in
    19  such plaintiff's favor. When a judgment is entered in favor of a defend-
    20  ant,  the  court  may  award  reasonable  costs and attorney fees to the
    21  defendant only for defending any claims the court finds frivolous.
    22    2. (a) If a person or public entity acting under  color  of  law  that
    23  subjects  or  causes to be subjected any other person to the deprivation
    24  of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the federal or state
    25  Constitution or laws, the attorney general may bring a civil action  for

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02350-01-1
        A. 4331                             2

     1  legal  or  equitable  relief  or  other proper redress. The civil action
     2  shall be brought in the name of the state and may be brought  on  behalf
     3  of  the  injured  party.  A civil action brought by the attorney general
     4  shall  not  foreclose  an  injured  party  from bringing their own civil
     5  action for legal or equitable relief or other proper  redress.  A  civil
     6  action  brought  by  an  injured  party shall not foreclose the attorney
     7  general from bringing a civil action for legal or  equitable  relief  or
     8  other proper redress.
     9    (b)  If the attorney general prevails in an action brought pursuant to
    10  this section, the court shall order the distribution  of  any  award  of
    11  damages to the injured party.
    12    3.  (a)  Statutory  immunities and statutory limitations on liability,
    13  damages or attorney fees do not apply to claims brought pursuant to this
    14  section.
    15    (b) It shall not be a defense or immunity to any  action  brought  for
    16  the  deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the
    17  federal or state Constitution and laws, that such defendant  was  acting
    18  in  good faith, or that the defendant believed, reasonably or otherwise,
    19  that their conduct was lawful at the time such  conduct  was  committed.
    20  Nor  shall  it  be a defense or immunity that the rights, privileges, or
    21  immunities secured by the federal or state Constitution or laws were not
    22  clearly established at the time of their deprivation by  the  defendant,
    23  or that the state of the law was otherwise such that the defendant could
    24  not  reasonably  have  been  expected  to know whether their conduct was
    25  lawful.
    26    4. A civil action pursuant to this section shall be  commenced  within
    27  three years after the cause of action accrues.
    28    5.  Notwithstanding  any other provision of law, a public entity shall
    29  indemnify its public employee for any liability incurred by the employee
    30  and for any judgment entered against the  employee  for  claims  arising
    31  under  this  section;  except that a public entity shall not indemnify a
    32  public employee if the employee was convicted of  a  criminal  violation
    33  for the conduct from which the claim arises.
    34    6.  For  the  purpose  of this section, "public entity" shall mean the
    35  state, any county, city and county, municipality, and every other  poli-
    36  tical  subdivision  of the state; and any private entity that engages in
    37  state action.
    38    7. The immunity granted pursuant to subdivision one of  section  twen-
    39  ty-four of the correction law shall not extend to actions brought pursu-
    40  ant to this section.
    41    8.  Notwithstanding  any  other  provision  of  law, including but not
    42  limited to subdivision two of section twenty-four of the correction law,
    43  actions brought pursuant to this section may be commenced in  any  court
    44  of competent jurisdiction, including the supreme court.
    45    § 2. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivi-
    46  sion,  section  or  part  of  this act shall be adjudged by any court of
    47  competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment  shall  not  affect,
    48  impair,  or  invalidate  the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in
    49  its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph,  subdivision,  section
    50  or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judg-
    51  ment shall have been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of
    52  the  legislature  that  this  act  would  have been enacted even if such
    53  invalid provisions had not been included herein.
    54    § 3. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day  after  it  shall
    55  have become a law.