Bill Text: NY S02380 | 2015-2016 | General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Provides for the award of attorney's fees in actions under the human rights law.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-01-28 - PRINT NUMBER 2380A [S02380 Detail]

Download: New_York-2015-S02380-Introduced.html

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                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                         2380
                              2015-2016 Regular Sessions
                                   I N  S E N A T E
                                   January 22, 2015
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by  Sen.  PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
         printed to be committed to the Committee on Investigations and Govern-
         ment Operations
       AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to providing  for  awards
         of attorney's fees in actions under the human rights law
         THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section 1. Subdivision 10 of section 297  of  the  executive  law,  as
    2  added  by  section  17  of part D of chapter 405 of the laws of 1999, is
    3  amended to read as follows:
    4    10. [With respect to cases of housing discrimination only, in]  IN  an
    5  action  or  proceeding  at law under this section or section two hundred
    6  ninety-eight of this article, the commissioner or the court [may in  its
    7  discretion]  SHALL award reasonable attorney's fees to any prevailing or
    8  substantially prevailing [party; provided, however,  that  a  prevailing
    9  respondent  or  defendant in order to recover such reasonable attorney's
   10  fees must make a motion requesting such fees and show that the action or
   11  proceeding brought  was  frivolous;  and  further  provided  that  in  a
   12  proceeding brought in the division of human rights, the commissioner may
   13  only award attorney's fees as part of a final order after a public hear-
   14  ing  held  pursuant  to  subdivision  four of this section] PLAINTIFF OR
   15  COMPLAINANT. In no case shall attorney's fees be awarded  to  the  divi-
   16  sion,  nor shall the division be liable to a prevailing or substantially
   17  prevailing party for attorney's fees, except in  a  case  in  which  the
   18  division  is  a  party to the action or the proceeding in the division's
   19  capacity as an employer.  [In order to find the action or proceeding  to
   20  be  frivolous, the court or the commissioner must find in writing one or
   21  more of the following:
   22    (a) the action or proceeding was commenced, used or continued  in  bad
   23  faith, solely to delay or prolong the resolution of the litigation or to
   24  harass or maliciously injure another; or
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD06965-01-5
       S. 2380                             2
    1    (b)  the  action or proceeding was commenced or continued in bad faith
    2  without any reasonable basis and could not be supported by a good  faith
    3  argument  for an extension, modification or reversal of existing law. If
    4  the action or proceeding was promptly discontinued  when  the  party  or
    5  attorney  learned  or  should have learned that the action or proceeding
    6  lacked such a reasonable basis, the court may find that the party or the
    7  attorney did not act in bad faith.]
    8    S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.