Bill Text: NY S03492 | 2013-2014 | General Assembly | Amended

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

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-01-08 - REFERRED TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS [S03492 Detail]

Download: New_York-2013-S03492-Amended.html

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                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                        3492--A
                              2013-2014 Regular Sessions
                                   I N  S E N A T E
                                   February 4, 2013
                                      ___________
       Introduced by Sens. PARKER, ADAMS -- read twice and ordered printed, and
         when  printed  to  be committed to the Committee on Investigations and
         Government Operations -- committee discharged, bill  amended,  ordered
         reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
       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:
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD08196-02-3
       S. 3492--A                          2
    1    (a)  the  action or proceeding was commenced, used or continued in bad
    2  faith, solely to delay or prolong the resolution of the litigation or to
    3  harass or maliciously injure another; or
    4    (b)  the  action or proceeding was commenced or continued in bad faith
    5  without any reasonable basis and could not be supported by a good  faith
    6  argument  for an extension, modification or reversal of existing law. If
    7  the action or proceeding was promptly discontinued  when  the  party  or
    8  attorney  learned  or  should have learned that the action or proceeding
    9  lacked such a reasonable basis, the court may find that the party or the
   10  attorney did not act in bad faith.]
   11    S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.