You may be reading this blog because you have learned of the Child Victims Act. As you are probably aware, New York has created a window for bringing lawsuits regarding child sexual abuse. The law was signed on February 2, 2019. It allows cases to be brought that may be many years old. The following information is from the New York State Uniform Court System website. Please feel free to contact us if you wish to discuss a potential case involving child sexual abuse.
People who were sexually abused as children (under 18) can start a civil case against their abuser or a liable third party, like a church or school, until they are 55 years old. A civil case can be started even if the abuse happened decades ago. But a civil case for damages is not brought by the prosecutor. Instead, you or your lawyer sues the sexual abuser or a third party. You do not need to file a Notice of Claim before the case is started. Start the case in the Supreme Court.
Important! For one year, between August 14, 2019 – August 13, 2020, a child sex abuse victim can start a civil case:
No matter how old you are
No matter how long ago the abuse took place
Even if the claim was too late under the old statute of limitations
Even if you sued the abuser before and the case was dismissed because you waited too long
Even if a Notice of Claim was never filed
Whether you are suing the abuser or organizations or persons that should have done something to stop or prevent the abuse from happening (like a school, an employer, or a place of worship)