“It was always the legislative intent to, among other things, ensure that the law allows survivors to come forward and seek justice whenever they are comfortable and safe to do so, regardless of how many years have elapsed.” – NY State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal
Today, New York State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal signed a sworn affidavit clarifying the legislative intent of the Child Victims Act (CVA), a law he sponsored and helped pass. Plaintiff Jane Doe submitted the affidavit to the Court in her action filed against former Apollo Global Management CEO Leon Black.
On July 25, 2023, Ms. Doe filed a complaint against Black, alleging he sexually assaulted her in Jeffrey Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse in 2002. Black filed a motion to dismiss her lawsuit, because he claims an amendment to the NYC Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act (VGMVPL) is unenforceable and preempted by the CVA. However, nowhere in the VGMVPL is there a requirement that a person must be a certain age (e.g., over/under 18) when the underlying violence occurred to assert a civil claim.
Wigdor LLP has opposed this motion to dismiss on behalf of Ms. Doe, with Partner Jeanne M. Christensen stating “Leon Black is asking the Court to make a monumental assumption and declare the amendments to the VGMVPL as unavailable to sexual assault victims who were minors at the time they were assaulted. As evident from Senator Hoylman’s affidavit, Black’s interpretation of NY’s legislative intent is wrong.”
As co-author and sponsor of the CVA (as well as the Adult Survivors Act), Senator Hoylman-Sigal is uniquely qualified to lend insight as to the legislative intentions of the CVA. Per Senator Hoylman-Sigal, the CVA was never intended to preempt other laws, including the VGMVPL. Furthermore, recent proposed amendments to the CVA would eliminate completely the statute of limitations on civil claims brought pursuant to the CVA. Plainly, the goal of the law is to provide the broadest possible protections to minors who were sexually assaulted throughout New York.
Please find full affidavit here.
Please reach out to Wigdor Partner Jeanne M. Christensen (jchristensen@wigdorlaw.com) or Marketing Director Tess Neudeck (tneudeck@wigdorlaw.com) with any questions.