Cuomo signs new extension of Child Victims Act lawsuit window

ALBANY (NY)
Times Union

August 3, 2020

By Cayla Harris and Chris Bragg

Deadline, originally set to expire this month, pushed to August 2021

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.”

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