For a year, New York’s Adult Survivors Act suspended the usual legal deadlines to give sexual assault victims one last chance to file lawsuits over misconduct that occurred years or decades ago.
By the time the law expired last week, more than 3,700 legal claims had been filed, with many of the last few coming against big-name celebrities and a handful of politicians.
The list of the accused contained many familiar names from past #MeToo scandals and a few new ones. A huge number of claims were also made by former prisoners over alleged assaults in jails and prisons.
Here’s a guide to some of the more noteworthy lawsuits:
E. Jean Carroll, a columnist, had written of the alleged assault in a 2019 book. He rebuffed the accusation, saying it never happened. She initially sued Trump only for defamation because the allegations dated back to the mid-90s and the deadline for filing a legal claim had long since passed. But the Adult Survivors Act cleared the way for a suit claiming sexual assault.
In May, a jury found Trump liable of sexually abusing Carroll, but not raping her. She was awarded $5 million, including damages for defamation.
Two more women came forward with lawsuits last week, just before the law’s expiration. They accuse Combs of sexual abuse in separate incidents dating back to the early 1990s. A spokesperson for Combs denied the allegations.
Weinstein, who is in prison in New York, “categorically” denied the accusations through his attorney.
A woman who says she asked him for a photo at a New York City rooftop bar in 2015 accuses him of groping her under her clothes.
A representative for the actor said the alleged incident never happened.
The woman says she was 17 when she met Tyler in Manhattan in the summer of 1975, and that he assaulted her twice during that day.
Tyler has made no public comment on the accusation.
A representative for Cosby didn’t respond to questions about the claim, instead citing the number of well-known figures named in lawsuits filed under the act and asking, “When is it going to stop?”
He has not commented on the suit, but in connection to claims in British media outlets in September by four women who said he assaulted them, he said his relationships were “always consensual.”
The woman, Drew Dixon, said Reid sexually assaulted her twice in 2001, and derailed what had been a promising career in the music industry. He hasn’t commented on the lawsuit, but denied Dixon’s claims when she first made them in 2017.
Sheila Kennedy said she was diagnosed with anxiety and depression because of the attack, which she has referenced before.
An attorney for Rose said it was a false allegation and never happened.
The heavyweight boxer spent three years in prison after being convicted of rape in 1992.
Cuomo’s attorney called the suit a “cash grab.” Cuomo has denied the sexual misconduct allegations. He initially faced a criminal charge but it was dropped by a prosecutor, who cited lack of proof.
A representative for Portnow, who stepped down in 2019, called the accusations “completely false.”
The woman, Noelle Dunphy, said Giuliani made suggestive comments and demanded sex while she worked for him as a business development director and public relations consultant between 2019 to 2021.
His spokesperson strongly denied the allegations.
The Associated Press does not typically name alleged victims of sexual assault in stories unless they decide to tell their stories publicly, as Dunphy, Commisso, Kennedy, Dixon, Carroll, Ormond, Cassie and Tarshis have done.
