File No. 564

House of Representatives, April 15, 2010

The Committee on Judiciary reported through REP. LAWLOR of the 99th Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the House, that the substitute bill ought to pass.

AN ACT CONCERNING ACTIONS TO RECOVER DAMAGES FOR THE SEXUAL ABUSE, SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OR SEXUAL ASSAULT OF A MINOR.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. Section 52-577d of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage and applicable to any action pending on or brought on or after said date):

(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 52-577 and except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, no action to recover damages for personal injury to a minor, including emotional distress, caused by sexual abuse, sexual exploitation or sexual assault may be brought by such person later than thirty years from the date such person attains the age of majority.

(b) An action to recover damages for personal injury to a minor, including emotional distress, caused by sexual abuse, sexual exploitation or sexual assault may be brought by such person at any time if:

(1) One or more other actions are brought by another person or persons within the limitation of time prescribed in subsection (a) of this section;

(2) The complaint or initial pleading in the action (A) alleges sexual abuse, sexual exploitation or sexual assault that is substantially similar to that alleged in such other action or actions, (B) alleges that the sexual abuse, sexual exploitation or sexual assault was committed by the same person alleged to have committed the sexual abuse, sexual exploitation or sexual assault in such other action or actions, and (C) names the same defendant or defendants alleged to be liable to such person as named in such other action or actions; and

(3) The attorney or party filing the action has made a reasonable inquiry as permitted by the circumstances to determine that there are grounds for a good faith belief that such person was sexually abused, sexually exploited or sexually assaulted as a minor. The complaint or initial pleading shall contain a certificate of the attorney or party filing the action that such reasonable inquiry gave rise to a good faith belief that grounds exist for an action against each named defendant. To show the existence of such good faith, the attorney or party filing the action shall identify in such certificate physical or documentary evidence of the sexual abuse, sexual exploitation or sexual assault and describe the connection between the person alleged to have committed such sexual abuse, sexual exploitation or sexual assault and any other defendant. The failure of the complaint or initial pleading to contain such a certificate shall be grounds for the granting of a motion to strike.

Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective from passage and applicable to any claim pending on or presented on or after said date) A claim against the state to recover damages for personal injury to a minor, including emotional distress, caused by sexual abuse, sexual exploitation or sexual assault committed by a state officer or employee may be presented to the Claims Commissioner in accordance with chapter 53 of the general statutes. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 4-148 of the general statutes concerning the limitation of time on the presentation of a claim to the Claims Commissioner, such claim may be presented to the Claims Commissioner subject to the limitation of time and requirements set forth in section 52-577d of the general statutes, as amended by this act.

The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose. In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst's professional knowledge. Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.

OFA Fiscal Note

State Impact:

Note: GF=General Fund

Municipal Impact: None

Explanation

Section 2 increases the liability of the state to potentially pay certain claims by extending (from 1 to 30 years) the statute of limitations for any claim brought against the state alleging personal injury, including emotional distress, caused by sexual abuse, sexual exploitation or sexual assault committed by a state officer or employee. Any such personal injury claim would be paid from the Adjudicated Claims Account within the Office of the State Comptroller.¹

Section 1 alters the statute of limitations for claims of sexual abuse, exploitation or assault made against private parties, which has no fiscal impact.

The Out Years

The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would continue into the future subject to inflation.

OLR Bill Analysis

sHB 5473

AN ACT CONCERNING ACTIONS TO RECOVER DAMAGES FOR THE SEXUAL ABUSE, SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OR SEXUAL ASSAULT OF A MINOR.

SUMMARY:

This bill extends, under certain conditions, the statute of limitations for actions to recover damages for personal injury to a minor, including emotional distress, caused by sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, or sexual assault. Current law bars a person from bringing an action later than 30 years from the date the person reaches the age of majority.

STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS IN CERTAIN CASES

The bill allows a person to bring action to recover damages for personal injury to a minor at any time if:

1. at least one other action is brought by another person within the current statute of limitations and

2. the complaint or initial pleading in the action (a) alleges sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, or sexual assault that is substantially similar to that alleged in the other action, (b) alleges that the acts were committed by the same person alleged to have committed the acts in the other action, and (c) names the same defendant alleged to be liable to the person as named in the other action.

Additionally, the bill requires the attorney or party filing the action to make a reasonable inquiry as permitted by the circumstances to determine there are grounds for a good faith belief that the person was sexually abused, sexually exploited, or sexually assaulted as a minor. The complaint or initial pleading must contain a certificate that the reasonable inquiry gave rise to a good faith belief that grounds exist for an action against each named defendant. To show the existence of such good faith, the attorney or party filing the action must identify in the certificate the physical or documentary evidence of the conduct and describe the connection between the person alleged to have committed the acts and any other defendant. If the complaint or initial pleading does not include the certificate, it is grounds for the court to grant a motion to strike.

The bill also allows a person to present a claim against the state with the claims commissioner subject to the above mentioned time limitations. Under current law, a person has one year from the time a claim accrues to present it to the claims commissioner. However, the General Assembly can waive this requirement if it finds compelling equitable circumstances to do so.

EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon passage and applicable to any action or claim pending or brought on and after that date.

COMMITTEE ACTION

Judiciary Committee

Joint Favorable Substitute

¹ This account is not appropriated; any payments from it would either increase a General Fund deficit or reduce a General Fund surplus.