STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8451 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY July 8, 2019 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. HEVESI -- read once and referred to the Committee on Social Services AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to a civil cause of action for human trafficking The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision (c) of section 483-bb of the social services 2 law, as amended by chapter 189 of the laws of 2018, is amended to read 3 as follows: 4 (c) (i) An individual who is a victim of the conduct prohibited by 5 section 230.33, 230.34, 230.34-a, 135.35 or 135.37 of the penal law may 6 bring a civil action against the perpetrator or whoever knowingly 7 advances or profits from, or whoever should have known he or she was 8 advancing or profiting from, an act in violation of section 230.33, 9 230.34, 230.34-a, 135.35 or 135.37 of the penal law to recover actual, 10 compensatory and punitive damages [~~and~~], injunctive relief, any combina- 11 tion of those or any other appropriate relief, as well as reasonable 12 attorney's fees. 13 (ii) An action brought pursuant to this subdivision shall be commenced 14 within seven years of the date on which the trafficking victim was freed 15 from the trafficking situation or, if the victim was a minor when the 16 act of human trafficking against the victim occurred, within ten years 17 after the date the victim attains the age of majority. 18 (iii) If a person entitled to sue is under a disability at the time 19 the cause of action accrues so that it is impossible or impracticable 20 for him or her to bring an action under this subdivision, the time of 21 the disability is not part of the time limited for the commencement of 22 the action. Disability will toll the running of the statute of limita- 23 tions for this action. 24 (A) Disability includes being a minor, lacking legal capacity to make 25 decisions, imprisonment, or other incapacity or incompetence. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD09134-03-9

A. 8451 2 1 (B) The statute of limitations shall not run against a victim who is a 2 minor or who lacks the legal competence to make decisions simply because 3 a guardian ad litem has been appointed. A guardian ad litem's failure to 4 bring a victim's action within the applicable limitation period will not 5 prejudice the victim's right to do so after his or her disability ceas- 6 es. 7 (C) The perpetrator is estopped from asserting a defense of the stat- 8 ute of limitations when the expiration of the statute is due to conduct 9 by such perpetrator inducing the victim to delay the filing of the 10 action, or due to threats made by the perpetrator causing duress upon 11 the victim. 12 (D) The suspension of the statute of limitations due to disability, 13 lack of knowledge, or estoppel applies to all other related claims aris- 14 ing out of the trafficking situation. 15 (E) The running of the statute of limitations is postponed during the 16 pendency of criminal proceedings against the victim. 17 (iv) The running of the statute of limitations may be suspended if a 18 person entitled to sue could not have reasonably discovered the cause of 19 action due to circumstances resulting from the trafficking situation, 20 such as psychological trauma, cultural and linguistic isolation, and the 21 inability to access services. 22 (v) A prevailing victim may also be awarded reasonable attorney's fees 23 and litigation costs including, but not limited to, expert witness fees 24 and expenses as part of the costs. 25 (vi) Restitution paid by the perpetrator to the victim shall be cred- 26 ited against a judgment, award, or settlement obtained pursuant to an 27 action under this subdivision. 28 (vii) A civil action filed under this subdivision shall be stayed 29 during the pendency of any criminal action arising out of the same 30 occurrence in which the claimant is the victim. As used in this subdivi- 31 sion, a "criminal action" includes investigation and prosecution, and is 32 pending until a final adjudication in the trial court or dismissal. 33 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

Relates to a civil cause of action for human trafficking

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