What's happening
This bill allows consumers ten years to sue for overcharges due to mistakes or billing errors by electric, gas, or telephone companies.
Why it matters
Expands consumer rights. by giving people a much longer window (ten years) to identify and seek repayment for overcharges, making it easier to recover money lost to billing mistakes that may go unnoticed for years.
Creates stronger incentives for utility companies. (electric, gas, and telephone) to maintain accurate billing systems and promptly correct errors, since they could face lawsuits for mistakes made up to a decade earlier.
Addresses power imbalance. between large utility corporations and individual consumers, who may not always catch errors immediately, by ensuring legal recourse remains available long after the overcharge occurs.
Could impact company record-keeping and risk management. , as utilities may need to retain billing records for at least ten years and prepare for longer-term legal exposure to billing disputes.
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Who cares
Electric customers
The bill would set a ten-year deadline to sue to recover overcharges caused by an electric corporation’s mistake or billing error.
Gas customers
The bill would give them ten years to bring an action to recover overcharges resulting from a gas corporation’s mistake or billing error.
Telephone customers
The bill would set a ten-year window to sue over overcharges caused by a telephone corporation’s mistake or billing error.
Electric, gas and telephone corporations
They would face a ten-year filing deadline for these overcharge recovery claims, applying to causes of action occurring on or after the bill’s effective date.
Headline styles
Limit Time to Claim Overcharges
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to judiciary
- Referred to judiciary
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1238
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 9, 2025
Introduced by M. of A. SEAWRIGHT -- read once and referred to the Committee on Judiciary
AN ACT to amend the civil practice law and rules, in relation to statute of limitations for certain overcharges
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 212 of the civil practice law and rules is amended by adding a new subdivision (f) to read as follows:
(f) Overcharge based on mistake or billing error. An action to recover the amount of an overcharge based upon a mistake or billing error made by an electric, gas, or telephone corporation must be commenced within ten years.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to all causes of action occurring on or after such date.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02977-01-5
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.