New York's Child Victims Act

Why Did New York Pass the Child Victims Act? 

New York passed the Child Victims Act because its old deadlines shut out most survivors before they were ready to come forward. The sponsors of Senate Bill S2440 previously called New York “one of the worst states in the nation” for survivors of child sexual abuse. Most had to file a civil lawsuit or press criminal charges by age 23, but by some estimates, survivors do not report or come to terms with their abuse until as late as age 52, on average. 

Survivors often stay silent for years out of fear, shame, confusion, or pressure from family or the institutions involved, and grooming can keep a child from recognizing the abuse. 

Versions of the bill had been introduced in Albany since 2012 without passing. In 2019, the Senate approved S2440 63–0 and Governor Andrew Cuomo signed it on February 14, 2019. Its sponsors set out three goals: to give past and future survivors access to justice, to help the public identify hidden abusers through the evidence gathered in civil lawsuits, and to shift the lasting costs of abuse onto the people and institutions responsible. 

How Did the Child Victims Act Change the Statute of Limitations? 

The CVA gave survivors more time to act in both civil and criminal cases, and it removed a filing requirement that had protected public institutions. Before the act, the filing clock for a civil claim generally started when the survivor turned 18 and ran between one and five years, depending on the type of claim. The act replaced that with a single deadline: your 55th birthday. 

Suing a public school district, a city, or the state previously required filing a formal notice of claim before a lawsuit could begin. The act removed that requirement for childhood sexual abuse claims, so public and private institutions are now held to the same rules. Cases revived during the window were also given trial preference, which moved them ahead on court calendars. 

Options If You Missed the Child Victims Act Revival Window 

If your claim expired before the act took effect and you did not file during the revival window, you may still have options. New York City’s Gender-Motivated Violence Act allows claims for abuse that happened in the city before January 9, 2022, if they are filed by July 29, 2027. The law covers crimes of violence motivated by gender, and it allows claims against both the abuser and anyone who enabled the abuse, including institutions.
 

Is the Child Victims Act Still Open for New Claims? 

Yes, for many survivors. The revival window for expired claims closed on August 14, 2021, but the act’s extended filing deadline is permanent. If your claim had not expired when the act took effect in 2019, you may still be able to file. 

“At Rheingold Law, we understand that survivors often carry their experiences for years before coming forward. Our role is to provide clear legal guidance, protect survivors’ rights, and pursue accountability with the care and respect every client deserves.”

Thomas Giuffra
Partner, Rheingold Giuffra Ruffo Plotkin & Hellman, LLP

Who Can Be Sued Under the CVA? 

The CVA applies to sexual abuse of minors. It covers conduct that would be a sexual offense under New York Penal Law Article 130, such as rape, sexual abuse, and forcible touching, as well as incest and the use of a child in a sexual performance. 

You can file a civil lawsuit against the person who abused you and the institutions whose intentional or negligent acts or omissions allowed the abuse to happen.  

These include: 

• Schools 

• Religious institutions 

• Youth organizations 

• Hospitals 

• Foster care agencies 

• Daycare centers 

• Residential facilities 

• Camps 

• Government entities 

Claims against institutions turn on what the institution knew and what it did about it. The questions are whether it hired or kept someone it should have screened out, failed to supervise, ignored or failed to investigate complaints, failed to report suspected abuse, or put children in situations where abuse was foreseeable. The evidence usually sits in the institution’s own records, including personnel files, internal policies, and prior complaints.  

Why Is the Child Victims Act Still Influential in New York? 

The Child Victims Act brought thousands of hidden abuse cases into court, forced institutions to answer for how they handled abuse, and became the model for later New York laws. Survivors filed nearly 11,000 cases during the revival window. 

Many of those cases were against institutions. Six of New York’s eight Roman Catholic dioceses filed for bankruptcy after the act passed. The Diocese of Buffalo, for example, cited its Child Victims Act liabilities when it filed for bankruptcy in 2020, and estimated that more than 900 cases or claims alleging abuse by its priests had been brought against it. 

How Can Rheingold Law Help Survivors in NYC and New York? 

Rheingold Giuffra Ruffo Plotkin & Hellman LLP has a long track record in high-profile sexual abuse cases against powerful individuals. Led by Thomas P. Giuffra, head of our Sexual Abuse and Civil Litigation Department, he has recovered more than $250 million for survivors of sexual abuse and sex trafficking. 

We put in the time and resources that cases against institutions demand: investigating what the institution knew, obtaining its records, and retaining the expert witnesses who can explain the harm the abuse caused.