If it seems like the music industry is facing a moment of reckoning — this month lawsuits were filed against Sean “Diddy” Combs, music mogul L.A. Reid and ex-Grammys CEO Neil Portnow — it might be, but it’s likely that these cases are making headlines all at once because a New York law that suspends time constraints on claims involving alleged sex offenses is about to expire.
All three of those high-profile cases were filed under New York’s Adult Survivors Act, which opened a one-year lookback period during which civil claims that would have otherwise been barred by the statute of limitations could be filed.
The window opened on Nov. 24, 2022 — E. Jean Carroll’s defamation suit against former president Donald Trump was amended almost immediately to include a sexual abuse claim — and it closes at midnight on Thursday.
Gibson Dunn litigator Brian Ascher previously told The Hollywood Reporter that courts “tend to get a bunch right away and then a lot right at the end of the period.”
That seems to be the case in New York, and mirrors what happened in late 2022 in California, as a crush of cases were filed before the end of a three-year window that allowed child sexual assault survivors to sue their abusers.
According to New York state courts’ data, there have been about 2,700 cases filed under the ASA so far. About 1,200 of those in the State Supreme Court and 1,500 in the Court of Claims, which oversees civil cases seeking damages against the State of New York and state agencies (as of Nov. 16 and Nov. 1, respectively). Among them are claims involving entertainment industry figures like Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby and James Toback — but the vast majority are non-Hollywood cases against government entities, hospitals, churches and schools.
Attorney Jonathan Schulman, whose firm Slater Slater Schulman is handling nearly 1,800 claims from women who say they were abused while in state, city or county correctional facilities, says their caseload “reveals the magnitude and systemic nature of the abuse perpetrated at institutions that are intended to ensure safety and prioritize rehabilitation.”
Douglas Wigdor, who represents Cassie Ventura in her now-settled claim against Combs, says that may not be the full picture. Wigdor explains, “The number of claims filed in court may not be representative of the number of cases that were actually brought given that many of the cases were likely settled prior to filing a public compliant.”
Once the window closes, it’s not necessarily the end of older sexual assault claims being pursued.
The New York City Council in 2000 enacted the Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act to “resolve the difficulty that victims face in seeking court remedies by providing an officially sanctioned and legitimate cause of action for seeking redress for injuries resulting from gender-motivated violence.” The city defines “crime of violence motivated by gender” as one “committed because of gender or on the basis of gender, and due, at least in part, to an animus based on the victim’s gender.”
In January 2022, the council amended the city’s administrative code to create a two year lookback window for GMVA claims and extend its statute of limitations. That period runs through Feb. 28, 2025 and allows survivors to bring civil claims against someone who “commits, directs, enables, participates in, or conspires in the commission of a crime of violence motivated by gender.” (The complaints against Combs, Reid and Portnow all claimed violations of the GMVA.)
There’s also California’s Sexual Abuse and Cover-Up Accountability Act — which opened a similar three-year lookback window that suspends the statute of limitations for certain sexual assault cases until December 31, 2026.
In 2019, the state extended the statute of limitations to 10 years for most civil claims brought by adult survivors of sexual assault — but it wasn’t initially clear whether it was retroactive. The new law, which was enacted on January 1, 2023, clarified that and seeks to fill the gap for victims whose incidents happened in the decade prior to 2019. It also contained a one-year revival window for otherwise time-barred claims against entities that covered up sexual abuse, and that closes Dec. 31, 2023.
“The California legislation only covers acts that occurred from January 2009 to January 2019, but I do believe we will be seeing more claims against the music industry and the entertainment world in general,” says Wigdor. “It is my hope that other states also adopt similar legislation.”
Adds Schulman, “The music and entertainment industries have long harbored significant power imbalances that contribute to abusive behavior. It wouldn’t surprise me to see more claims filed in this regard, as one of the common themes we hear from many survivors we represent is that the fear of retaliation forced them into silence.”