Bulk of Adult Survivor Act lawsuits are filed by women former inmates
State prisons and local jails have been the surprising focus of lawsuits filed under the Adult Survivors Act. Above, the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility. Credit: AP/Seth Wenig
While celebrity cases have grabbed the headlines, the real focus for lawsuits filed in New York under the Adult Survivors Act has been unpredicted venues:
State prisons and local jails.
The act suspended the usual time limit for filing claims of sexual assault and provided a one-year window for filing claims. By the time the window closes midnight Thursday, it's likely that more than half the claims will be filed by women former inmates who allege they were sexually abused while incarcerated.
It’s a development a key state senator called “surprising,” “outrageous” and “unacceptable.”
“No, this was not on our radar,” when the law was being proposed, Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal (D-Manhattan), sponsor of the legislation, told Newsday. "I do find that upsetting and I think that will be an area of further legislative inquiry, I hope, once we get a full accounting."
The Adult Survivors Act was modeled after the Child Victims Act, which spurred nearly 11,000 lawsuits to be filed by the time it expired in 2021. Many cases involve claims against the Catholic Church as well as the Boy Scouts of America.
The Adult Survivors Act has triggered roughly 2,600 lawsuits to date, some targeting the powerful and famous: Donald Trump, Harvey Weinstein, Russell Brand.
But of the cases filed to date, more than half name the state as a defendant and the overwhelming number involve ex-inmates who are women, according to data provided by the state Office of Court Administration.
Facilities with a high volume of claims include Bedford Hills and Taconic state prisons for women in Westchester County, and Bayview Correctional in Manhattan. A few cases involved youth detention centers and drug treatment facilities.
But none surpass Albion Correctional Facility, west of Rochester, which has been named in more than 500 cases.
Attorney Anna Kull of the Manhattan-based law firm Levy Konigsberg expects to file about 600 cases around the state before the deadline on behalf of female ex-inmates. She said they didn’t make claims while incarcerated because they were afraid of being ignored and suffering retaliation.
“Why are all these women coming forward now? Because they are out of prison,” Kull said. She noted that federal reports regularly note “incarcerated women are among the most vulnerable to sexual violence.”
“With the passage of the law, they’re seeing all these cases being filed. They’re hearing all these other women talking about their cases in the press,” Kull said. “That encourages other women to come forward.”
She said the influx of cases should spur lawmakers to do more about the issue of sexual violence in prisons.
“We’re talking about a systemic issue that needs to be addressed,” Kull said. “You’re not going to address it with just an Adult Survivors Act that’s going to permit these claims to come forward to seek civil compensation. That’s just one step.”
Prior to the deadline, the focus on the law has been about celebrity defendants.
In May, a jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing E. Jean Carroll and ordered a $5 million judgment. Trump has denied wrongdoing.
Movie mogul Weinstein — already serving time on rape convictions — was sued by actress Julia Ormond for alleged sexual assault. Brand was sued by a film extra and has denied the assault allegations.
In all, about 1,500 of the Adult Survivors Act lawsuits have been filed in the Court of Claims, the venue used when the state is the defendant — such as instances where the alleged abuse occurred in state prison.
Another 1,100 lawsuits were filed in state Supreme Court, signaling the claims likely target individuals rather than state government.
Of those 1,100, none were filed in Nassau or Suffolk counties, according to OCA. In fact, about 90% were filed in New York City.
The look-back window has been a “valuable tool to allow survivors of sexual assault to have their day in court,” said Michael Polenberg, a vice president of Safe Horizons, the victims’ services nonprofit that has connected alleged abuse survivors with attorneys who might file claims.
Beyond the filing deadline, Polenberg said he hopes the rash of claims “leads to lasting meaningful reform” in jails and prisons, including putting in safeguards to reduce the chances of abuse and immediately investigating any claims. He said it shows sexual violence in prison “is not a laughing matter.”
