Bill Text: NY A00710 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Provides a civil action for deprivation of rights which is caused by any person or public entity.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 48-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to judiciary [A00710 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A00710-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         710--A

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 11, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M. of A. HUNTER, REYES, SIMON, EPSTEIN, CLARK, MITAYNES,
          GONZALEZ-ROJAS, ZINERMAN, MAMDANI,  BURGOS,  RAMOS,  FORREST,  KELLES,
          SEAWRIGHT,  JACKSON, BICHOTTE HERMELYN, JEAN-PIERRE, DAVILA, DINOWITZ,
          ANDERSON, L. ROSENTHAL, MEEKS, GALLAGHER, KIM, WALKER,  CRUZ,  HEVESI,
          STECK, CARROLL, GLICK, GIBBS, TAYLOR, RIVERA, TAPIA, CUNNINGHAM, COOK,
          LUCAS,  SHRESTHA, HYNDMAN, ARDILA, RAGA, SIMONE, DE LOS SANTOS, AUBRY,
          BORES -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of  A.  PRETLOW  --  read  once  and
          referred  to  the Committee on Judiciary -- committee discharged, bill
          amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said  commit-
          tee

        AN  ACT  to amend the civil rights law, in relation to providing a civil
          action for deprivation of rights

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  The  civil  rights law is amended by adding a new section
     2  79-r to read as follows:
     3    § 79-r. Civil action for deprivation of rights.   1. (a) A  person  or
     4  public  entity  acting  under color of law that subjects or causes to be
     5  subjected any other person to the deprivation of any rights, privileges,
     6  or immunities secured by the federal or state Constitution or  laws,  is
     7  liable  to  the injured party for legal or equitable relief or any other
     8  appropriate relief.  For the purposes of this section, a  public  entity
     9  subjects,  or  causes  to be subjected, any person to the deprivation of
    10  any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the  federal  or  state
    11  Constitution or laws, by employing any person who violates this section.
    12    (b)  Notwithstanding  any  other  law  to  the contrary, in any action
    13  brought pursuant to this section or the New York  human  rights  law,  a
    14  court  shall  award  reasonable  attorney fees and costs to a prevailing
    15  plaintiff. For the purposes  of  this  section,  the  term  "prevailing"
    16  includes  a  plaintiff  whose  commencement of litigation has acted as a
    17  catalyst to effect change in  the  defendant's  conduct,  regardless  of

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01354-03-3
        A. 710--A                           2

     1  whether  that  change  has been implemented as a result of a judgment in
     2  such plaintiff's favor. When a judgment is entered in favor of a defend-
     3  ant, the court may award reasonable  costs  and  attorney  fees  to  the
     4  defendant only for defending any claims the court finds frivolous.
     5    2.  (a)  If  a  person or public entity acting under color of law that
     6  subjects or causes to be subjected any other person to  the  deprivation
     7  of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the federal or state
     8  Constitution  or laws, the attorney general may bring a civil action for
     9  legal or equitable relief or other  proper  redress.  The  civil  action
    10  shall  be  brought in the name of the state and may be brought on behalf
    11  of the injured party. A civil action brought  by  the  attorney  general
    12  shall  not  foreclose  an  injured  party  from bringing their own civil
    13  action for legal or equitable relief or other proper  redress.  A  civil
    14  action  brought  by  an  injured  party shall not foreclose the attorney
    15  general from bringing a civil action for legal or  equitable  relief  or
    16  other proper redress.
    17    (b)  If the attorney general prevails in an action brought pursuant to
    18  this section, the court shall order the distribution  of  any  award  of
    19  damages to the injured party.
    20    3.  (a)  Statutory  immunities and statutory limitations on liability,
    21  damages or attorney fees do not apply to claims brought pursuant to this
    22  section.
    23    (b) It shall not be a defense or immunity to any  action  brought  for
    24  the  deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the
    25  federal or state Constitution and laws, that such defendant  was  acting
    26  in  good faith, or that the defendant believed, reasonably or otherwise,
    27  that their conduct was lawful at the time such  conduct  was  committed.
    28  Nor  shall  it  be a defense or immunity that the rights, privileges, or
    29  immunities secured by the federal or state Constitution or laws were not
    30  clearly established at the time of their deprivation by  the  defendant,
    31  or that the state of the law was otherwise such that the defendant could
    32  not  reasonably  have  been  expected  to know whether their conduct was
    33  lawful.
    34    4. A civil action pursuant to this section shall be  commenced  within
    35  three years after the cause of action accrues.
    36    5.  Notwithstanding  any other provision of law, a public entity shall
    37  indemnify its public employee for any liability incurred by the employee
    38  and for any judgment entered against the  employee  for  claims  arising
    39  under this section.
    40    6.  For  the  purpose  of this section, "public entity" shall mean the
    41  state, any county, city and county, municipality, and every other  poli-
    42  tical  subdivision  of the state; and any private entity that engages in
    43  state action.
    44    7. The immunity granted pursuant to subdivision one of  section  twen-
    45  ty-four of the correction law shall not extend to actions brought pursu-
    46  ant to this section.
    47    8.  Notwithstanding  any  other  provision  of  law, including but not
    48  limited to subdivision two of section twenty-four of the correction law,
    49  actions brought pursuant to this section may be commenced in  any  court
    50  of competent jurisdiction, including the supreme court.
    51    § 2. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivi-
    52  sion,  section  or  part  of  this act shall be adjudged by any court of
    53  competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment  shall  not  affect,
    54  impair,  or  invalidate  the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in
    55  its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph,  subdivision,  section
    56  or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judg-
        A. 710--A                           3

     1  ment shall have been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of
     2  the  legislature  that  this  act  would  have been enacted even if such
     3  invalid provisions had not been included herein.
     4    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.