New York lawmakers want to ease restrictions for people who sue the state over sexual abuse claims to continue their legal cases in the wake of a controversial decision by the state’s highest court.
The Court of Appeals last week dismissed the case of a man who says he was sexually abused at a state-owned theater in the late 1980s. He sued the state of New York under the 2019 Child Victims Act, but the state’s top court dismissed his claim because he didn’t state a precise time and place where the alleged abuse took place.
Abuse survivors say it’s nearly impossible to recall this information so specifically. And attorneys fear the ruling will create a precedent that will block other suits from the get-go. About 10,000 claims have been filed under the Child Victims Act and roughly another 3,700 under the Adult Survivors Act, which passed in 2022.
“It’s a terrible decision,” said Michael Polenberg, vice president for advocacy at Safe Horizon, a nonprofit that supports survivors. “It sends a chilling message to survivors and it’s not at all in the spirit of why the Legislature passed the Child Victims Act or the Adult Survivors Act.”
The laws lengthened the statute of limitations on sexual abuse claims and opened specified look-back windows for alleged abuse survivors to file lawsuits — regardless of when they say the abuse occurred. Both measures were debated for years and passed as the #MeToo movement increased public attention on sexual misconduct. The look-back windows are now closed.
People across the state have filed cases against schools as well as religious and youth organizations. But abuse lawsuits involving New York state proceed on a separate track in the Court of Claims, which is governed by its own specific statute because the state has sovereign immunity that it waives in limited circumstances. Cases filed in the Court of Claims must conform to more rigid requirements to name a specific time and place, according to the statute that sets up the court.
Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal, a Democrat from the Upper West Side who sponsored both laws, said she will soon introduce a bill to loosen requirements that abuse claims state a precise time and place where abuse occurred. There shouldn’t be different standards in different courts, she said.
“No matter what the rules of the court are, we have to find a way to restore the rights we granted to child victims and adult victims of sexual abuse,” she said.
Last week’s Court of Appeals decision involved a case brought by Chi Wright, who alleges he was abused at a state-owned theater in Albany called The Egg between 1986 and 1990. Judges noted that Wright didn’t name his alleged abusers, explain why he was at The Egg at the time or make clear why the state was responsible for Wright’s contact with any abusers.
“Although we recognize the difficulties attendant to recollecting the details of any abuse that might have occurred decades ago, we must abide by the conditions set forth,” the judges wrote.
A lawyer for Wright did not respond to a request for comment.
The office of Attorney General Letitia James is tasked with defending the state and made the move to dismiss the case. During oral arguments last month, Deputy Solicitor General Jeffrey Lang said there were roughly 150 sexual abuse claims pending against the state.
One of them is the case of Bernard Musumeci, who grew up on Long Island. Musumeci was placed in the state-owned Sagamore Children’s Psychiatric Center when he was 10 years old and says he was repeatedly raped and abused by older boys there.
Musumeci sued the state for negligence under the Child Victims Act, saying employees at Sagamore failed to investigate his claims and protect him from the abuse that occurred between June 18 and Nov. 14, 1973.
The state denied Musumeci’s accusations in court papers and said employees acted lawfully and in good faith. It also said Musumeci didn’t provide an adequate description of the site of his abuse.
“I was 10 years old. I wasn't writing stuff down,” Musumeci said in an interview. “It just doesn't make any sense to me. They'll pay for somebody stubbing their toe in a New York City street, but we can't sue them over something like this?”
A spokesperson for James said survivors of childhood sexual abuse “deserve the opportunity to pursue justice through the process outlined in the Child Victims Act. As New York’s lawyer, we have a responsibility to defend the state, which we are balancing with our strong desire to support survivors and their ability to heal.”
Rosenthal said she was disappointed in the decision and would push her colleagues to change the law in the coming weeks of the legislative session.
Mike Murphy, a spokesperson for state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, said Democrats in the chamber “were concerned by the ruling and are looking at next steps including possible legislative fixes.”
Avi Small, a spokesperson for Gov. Kathy Hochul, said she would review any legislation that passes.