Child Victims Act sponsor moves to extend ‘lookback window’ for abuse lawsuits
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State Sen. Brad Hoylman. AP Photo/Hans Pennink.
By David Brand
The state senator who sponsored legislation that allows victims of child sex abuse to sue their alleged predators, no matter when the abuse occured, has introduced a bill to extend the window for new lawsuits.
The Child Victims Act took effect in August 2019, eliminating statutes of limitations and enabling survivors to sue their alleged abusers during a one-year “lookback window” that expires Aug. 13, 2020. State Sen. Brad Hoylman sponsored the bill, which passed last legislative session after years of advocacy, and has introduced a new piece of legislation that would extend the “lookback window” for one more year.
“Other states, including California and New Jersey, have instituted multi-year revival windows for civil lawsuits because it can take decades for adult survivors of child sexual abuse to come forward,” Hoylman said in a statement. “To ensure the maximum number of survivors have time to seek justice and further protect the public, New York should extend the Child Victims Act’s revival window for another year before it expires in August.”
Survivors of sexual abuse have filed 1,360 CVA lawsuits statewide as of Jan. 6, according to information shared by the Office of Court Administration. At least 65 complaints were filed in Queens Supreme Court.
Queens plaintiffs have failed lawsuits against members of the clergy and individual churches in the Brooklyn Diocese, including priests at St. Margaret’s Church in Middle Village and St. Francis Preparatory School in Fresh Meadows. Survivors have also sued Rockefeller University Hospital for not preventing abuse by longtime physician Reginald Archibald, who reportedly abused hundreds of children in his care.
Erie County leads the state in CVA lawsuits, with 310. Erie County is home to the Buffalo Diocese, the most sued entity in the state. By November 2019, more than 210 plaintiffs had named at least 107 Catholic priests from the Buffalo Diocese in lawsuits alleging abuse, the Buffalo News reported.
Plaintiffs have filed 300 lawsuits in Manhattan and 190 lawsuits in Brooklyn.
Jayne Conroy, a trial lawyer and partner at Simmons Hanly Conroy who specializes in CVA cases, said last month that the number of complaints will likely change as more people learn about the law and their rights to file a lawsuit.
“It doesn’t necessarily have any reflection on what the numbers may ultimately look like,” Conroy said. “We have until August so there’s no reason to rush anything. We’re doing our due diligence.”
Media accounts of CVA cases play an important role in spreading the word about the law, and for making victims feel comfortable coming forward, she said.
“It’s very, very difficult for a victim to come forward if they think no one has ever come out and said ‘’This person abused me,’ but then they see in the news that 10 people have come forward,” she said.
