Albany lawmakers are weighing a quiet but consequential change that could decide whether thousands of sexual abuse survivors ever get their day in court against New York state.
A bill moving through the Capitol would let survivors sue the state even if they cannot pinpoint exact dates, specific locations or a total dollar amount of damages. It is a technical tweak on paper, but advocates say it could rescue a wave of Court of Claims lawsuits that are currently teetering on the edge of dismissal over wording and formatting instead of facts and evidence.
Supporters say the proposal targets a familiar problem in these cases: when trauma, incarceration or the simple passage of decades makes it nearly impossible for survivors to supply the kind of precise scheduling details the law usually demands.
What the Bill Would Change
The measure, S9848 in the Senate with a companion Assembly bill A8635, would carve out specific exceptions to Court of Claims Act §11(b). That section now requires strict "time and place" details when someone sues the state. Under the bill, certain child- and adult-sex-offense cases would no longer have to supply that level of specificity.
The exceptions would apply broadly: to new claims, to suits already pending and to appeals in cases that have already been tossed because they did not list an exact time, place or total sum being demanded. The policy and bill language are laid out in the legislative filings, according to the New York State Senate and the companion Assembly entry on the New York State Senate website.
Where the Bill Stands
The Senate version cleared a Judiciary Committee vote in May, giving it at least some momentum in the upper chamber. The Assembly bill is parked in the Assembly Judiciary Committee and has not yet been scheduled for a vote on the floor.
Backers warn that without a legislative fix, judges in the Court of Claims will keep tossing otherwise viable cases on narrow procedural grounds. Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal has said the change could preserve roughly 1,500 adult-survivor cases and about 300 child-victim suits that might otherwise disappear, as reported by NEWS10.
Advocates Say Trauma Makes Dates Hard to Give
Survivor groups and faith leaders who gathered at the Capitol argue the bill simply reflects how memory works under trauma and in prison. People who were abused as children, or who were incarcerated at the time of the abuse, often cannot pull up exact calendar dates or clock times years later, they say, even when the underlying events are seared into memory.
"We need a paradigm shift for women to come forward," said Noah Batsheva, founder of Imani's Safehouse. Chaplain Donna Hylton urged lawmakers to remember that behind every claim number is a family, pushing legislators to connect abstract legal language with real people. Their remarks appear in advocacy materials promoting the bill package, according to the BPHA Caucus.
Legal Context
Lawmakers and attorneys say S9848 is designed to patch an unintended hole left by New York's recent lookback laws for survivors.
The Child Victims Act of 2019 extended civil filing deadlines for people abused as children, opening a window for long-expired claims to be filed anew. The Adult Survivors Act of 2022 created a temporary revival window for adults who say they were sexually abused. Both measures were billed as landmark reforms, but advocates argue their impact is being undercut when Court of Claims suits against the state are dismissed on pleading technicalities instead of on the evidence.
Details on the Child Victims Act are outlined in coverage by WAMC, and the Adult Survivors Act signing is documented by the Governor's Office.
What Comes Next
For now, the measure sits in the Assembly Judiciary Committee. If it clears that panel, it could head to the Assembly floor, and if passed, then to the governor's desk.
Supporters stress that the bill does not invent new ways to sue the state. Instead, they say it is a narrow recalibration meant to ensure that claims already allowed under existing law are decided on what happened, not on whether a survivor can still circle a precise date on a calendar.
