Cuomo Signs New Extension of Child Victims Act Lawsuit Window

By Cayla Harris and Chris Bragg
Times Union
August 3, 2020

https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Cuomo-signs-another-extension-for-Crime-Victims-15454413.php

Governor Andrew Cuomo speaks on May 06, 2020 in Manhasset. On Monday, the governor signed an extention to give alleged child sex crimes victims until Aug. 14, 2020 to file lawsuits under the state's Crime Victims Act. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

ALBANY — In a long-fought victory for sex abuse survivors and victims advocates, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Monday signed a bill granting a one-year extension to the Child Victims Act's "look-back window" allowing survivors of all ages to file previously time-barred claims against their alleged abusers.

The window, which opened last August, was set by statute to expire this month. But as the coronavirus pandemic shut down courts and introduced economic hardship early this year, Cuomo earlier this year signed an executive order initially extending the window through mid-January 2021. More than 3,100 cases have been filed under the act so far, including more than 200 in Albany County, according to data compiled by the state court system.

The newest extension grants survivors until Aug. 14, 2021, to file claims.

"We cannot let this pandemic rob survivors of their day in court," the governor said Monday in a Tweet. " ... This extension will help ensure that abusers are held accountable."

The push to extend the window had existed prior to the pandemic, as advocates and lawmakers argued that many victims of sexual abuse are unaware of the law or cannot find attorneys to take on cases against individuals that have no ties to wealthy institutions. They noted that other states with measures similar to the Child Victims Act, including New Jersey and Hawaii, had instituted multi-year look-back windows.

Cuomo had previously cast doubt on an extension, saying in February that lawmakers “knew what we were doing” when they set the one-year window.

But the measure picked up steam as the coronavirus crisis shut down nearly all aspects of daily life, including court functions for roughly two months. Survivors said they would be deprived of months they had been promised after a decades-long push to pass the Child Victims Act last year.

“Once again the great leaders in New York have done the right thing," said Kathryn Robb, executive director the group CHILD USAdvocacy, who praised Cuomo as well as the bill's legislative sponsors, state Sen. Brad Hoylman and Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal. " ... With the signing of this legislation, New York remains a leader in justice for victims and the safety of children. Simply doing the right thing puts them in front in this movement for the forgotten victims of the #MeToo movement — children!"

"After a 13-year-long battle against powerful institutions like the Catholic Church, the Boy Scouts of America and insurance companies to win the one-year window, it was unconscionable that survivors were losing months of precious time to file a claim because of COVID-19 court closures and chaos," Rosenthal said in a statement. "I, my colleagues and the countless survivors who have suffered in silence for so long are overjoyed that the doors to justice have not been closed to them."

Though Cuomo had signed the executive order extending the window through January, victims attorneys feared that without legislative action the order would face legal challenges that could invalidate any filings submitted after the current deadline.