Bill Text: NY S06078 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Relates to the imposition of penalties and remedies in suits brought for the vindication of civil rights or human rights; reasonable attorney's fee, reasonable expert fees.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-02-04 - PRINT NUMBER 6078A [S06078 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-S06078-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6078--A 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN SENATE May 16, 2019 ___________ Introduced by Sen. SEPULVEDA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes -- recommitted to the Committee on Codes in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the civil rights law, in relation to the imposition of penalties and remedies in suits brought for the vindication of civil rights or human rights The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Article 10 and sections 100 and 101 of the civil rights 2 law, as renumbered by chapter 263 of the laws of 2019, are renumbered 3 article 11 and sections 110 and 111 and a new article 10 is added to 4 read as follows: 5 ARTICLE 10 6 PENALTIES AND REMEDIES 7 Section 100. Penalties and remedies. 8 § 100. Penalties and remedies. 1. Every person who, under color of any 9 statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of this state, 10 subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of this state or other 11 person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, 12 privileges, or immunities secured by the constitution and laws of this 13 state, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in 14 equity, or other proper proceeding for redress, except that in any 15 action brought against a judicial officer for an act or omission taken 16 in such officer's judicial capacity, injunctive relief shall not be 17 granted unless a declaratory decree was violated or declaratory relief 18 was unavailable. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD03610-05-0S. 6078--A 2 1 2. The supreme court of the state of New York shall have jurisdiction 2 over all suits brought for the vindication of civil rights as provided 3 in subdivision one of this section. To the extent that the laws of the 4 state of New York furnish a remedy for the vindication of such civil 5 rights, such laws shall be applied; but in all cases where such laws are 6 deficient in the provisions necessary to furnish suitable remedies, the 7 common law shall be extended to and govern the said courts in the trial 8 and disposition of the matter. 9 3. (a) In any action or proceeding to enforce this section or the New 10 York human rights law, the court must award the prevailing party, other 11 than the state of New York, a reasonable attorney's fee as part of the 12 costs, except that in any action brought against a judicial officer for 13 an act or omission taken in such officer's judicial capacity such offi- 14 cer shall not be held liable for any costs, including attorney's fees, 15 unless such action was clearly in excess of such officer's jurisdiction. 16 (b) In awarding an attorney's fee under paragraph (a) of this subdivi- 17 sion in any action or proceeding to enforce a provision of this article, 18 the court shall include reasonable expert fees as part of the attorney's 19 fee. 20 4. This article shall supplement and not displace any jurisdiction 21 currently existing in the courts or administrative agencies of this 22 state to the extent that other laws of this state already provide a 23 remedy for the type of injury referred to in this section. 24 5. In interpreting this section, the courts may consider the fundamen- 25 tal principles already enunciated by the federal courts in interpreting 26 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1988, which are the parallel federal civil rights 27 laws. 28 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 29 have become a law.
