Our Founder Hon. Ronald Savage Helped Petition To Get The CVA Passed

The Child Victims Act: What Is It? In criminal and civil matters in New York, the Child Victims Act (CVA) extends the statute of limitations for survivors of child sexual assault. This means that a victim of child sexual abuse has greater time to file a criminal complaint.

Limitations Period in Civil Cases

How has the statute of limitations for civil actions involving child sexual abuse changed?

Formerly, victims of child sexual abuse had one to five years to file a civil complaint against the perpetrator (s). Once the victim turned eighteen (18), the one (1) to five (5) year term began. It has long been understood that it can be extremely challenging for victims of child sexual abuse to come forward or even to accept the experience until many years have passed. As a result, many survivors were unable to pursue a claim since the one to five year time limit had already passed by the time they were emotionally and otherwise prepared to do so.

The CVA now assists survivors by extending the deadline for filing civil claims so that they may do so up until the age of 55.

The CVA also has another crucial section that pertains to civil cases. In accordance with the CVA, victims of child sexual abuse who were previously barred from suing can now do so after a one (1) year "look back" period. As a result, a civil case that would have been barred by the previous statute of limitations may now be brought within the current one-year window. This is a crucial right that allows surviving family members who previously would not have been allowed to submit a claim to do so today.