New York Child Victims Act Takes Effect August 14, 2019

On August 14, 2019, New York’s historic Child Victims Act (CVA) takes effect. Passed by the New York State legislature on January 28th, the CVA was signed into law by New York Governor Cuomo on February 14, 2019. With Governor Cuomo’s signature, the Childhood Victims Act is now the law in New York, taking effect on August 14, 2019.

The CVA provides for the following:

• Extends the time within which civil claims can be brought for childhood sexual abuse. Under previous law, a survivor of childhood sexual abuse could bring claims only up until the date of his/her 23rd birthday. Now, under the Childhood Victims Act such claims can be brought up until the survivor’s 55th birthday.
• Most importantly for older survivors of childhood sexual abuse, the CVA opens a one–year period of time within which survivors of child sexual abuse, whose claims are currently beyond the statute of limitations, can bring civil claims for harm and damages suffered as a result of the childhood sexual abuse.

This latter provision of the Childhood Victims Act will take effect August 14, 2019, and will be in effect for a period of one year. Within that one–year “window of time” survivors of childhood sexual abuse can file lawsuits in New York to compensate them for the harm and damages they suffered as a result of the childhood sexual abuse.

We are currently working with survivors of childhood sexual abuse that was perpetrated in New York – reviewing and evaluating claims and providing legal representation.