Governor Cuomo signs bill that doubles the time frame survivors have to sue their abusers.

Assemblyman Ken Zebrowski (D-West Nyack) announced that his legislation that extends the statute of limitations for civil suits related to injury caused by domestic violence to two years has been signed into law (A.1945). Under current law, victims of domestic violence must take legal action within one year after the incident takes place. The legislation would afford survivors an extra year, taking into account the highly emotional and traumatic nature of domestic violence cases.

“For many, the physical, mental and even logistical impacts of domestic violence could make filing a lawsuit within a year an impossible task. By doubling the statute of limitations we are recognizing the time needed to heal while providing survivors the opportunity to take action against their abuser later,” said Assemblyman Zebrowski.

Various factors could delay a victim from taking immediate legal action. Due to the restrictive time constraint, by the time an individual does decide to file charges, they could be barred from doing so. This law should encourage victims to come forward and hold perpetrators of domestic violence accountable.

“I’d like to thank Governor Cuomo for standing up for domestic violence victims and signing this imperative legislation into law. I hope that this will lead to more survivors getting economic resources to put their lives back together,” concluded Zebrowski.