Amended in Assembly March 26, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 15


Introduced by Assembly Member Holden

December 1, 2014


An actbegin delete relating to a living wage.end deletebegin insert to amend Section 52.5 of the Civil Code, and to add Section 354.8 to the Code of Civil Procedure, relating to civil actions.end insert

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 15, as amended, Holden. begin deleteLiving wage.end deletebegin insertLimitation of actions: human rights abuses.end insert

begin insert

Existing law requires a civil action for assault, battery, or injury to, or for the death of, an individual caused by the wrongful act or neglect of another to be commenced with 2 years. Existing law requires a civil action brought by a victim of human trafficking, as defined, to be commenced within 5 years of the date on which the trafficking victim was freed from the trafficking situation or, if the victim was a minor when the act of human trafficking against the victim occurred, within 8 years after the date the plaintiff attains the age of majority.

end insert
begin insert

This bill would instead require a civil action for assault, battery, or wrongful death, when the conduct would also constitute torture, genocide, a war crime, an attempted extrajudicial killing, or a crime against humanity, as defined, to be commenced within 10 years. The bill would also require a civil action for human trafficking or the taking of property in violation of international law, as specified, or a civil action seeking benefits under an insurance policy, where the insurance claim arises out of any of the conduct specified above, to be commenced within 10 years. The bill would authorize a prevailing plaintiff to recover reasonable attorney’s fees and litigation costs. The bill would require these provisions to be construed as applying retroactively and would provide that these provisions are severable, as specified.

end insert
begin delete

Existing law establishes a minimum wage for all industries and prescribes requirements relative to payment of prevailing wages on public works.

end delete
begin delete

This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would provide for a living wage for work performed by parties who contract with the state.

end delete

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

P2    1begin insert

begin insertSECTION 1.end insert  

end insert

begin insertSection 52.5 of the end insertbegin insertCivil Codeend insertbegin insert is amended to read:end insert

2

52.5.  

(a) A victim of human trafficking, as defined in Section
3236.1 of the Penal Code, may bring a civil action for actual
4damages, compensatory damages, punitive damages, injunctive
5relief, any combination of those, or any other appropriate relief.
6A prevailing plaintiff may also be awarded attorney’s fees and
7costs.

8(b) In addition to the remedies specifiedbegin delete herein,end deletebegin insert in this section,end insert
9 in an action under subdivision (a), the plaintiff may be awarded
10up to three times his or her actual damages or ten thousand dollars
11($10,000), whichever is greater. In addition, punitive damages
12may also be awarded upon proof of the defendant’s malice,
13oppression, fraud, or duress in committing the act of human
14trafficking.

begin delete

15(c) An action brought pursuant to this section shall be
16commenced within five years of the date on which the trafficking
17victim was freed from the trafficking situation or, if the victim was
18a minor when the act of human trafficking against the victim
19occurred, within eight years after the date the plaintiff attains the
20age of majority.

end delete
begin delete

21(d)

end delete

22begin insert(c)end insert If a person entitled to sue is under a disability at the time
23the cause of action accrues, so that it is impossible or impracticable
24for him or her to bring an action, then the time of the disability is
25not part of the time limited for the commencement of the action.
P3    1Disability will toll the running of the statute of limitation for this
2action.

3(1) Disability includes being a minor, lacking legal capacity to
4make decisions, imprisonment, or other incapacity or
5incompetence.

6(2) The statute of limitations shall not run against a plaintiff
7who is a minor or who lacks the legal competence to make
8decisions simply because a guardian ad litem has been appointed.
9A guardian ad litem’s failure to bring a plaintiff’s action within
10the applicable limitation period will not prejudice the plaintiff’s
11right to do so after his or her disability ceases.

12(3) A defendant is estopped to assert a defense of the statute of
13limitations when the expiration of the statute is due to conduct by
14the defendant inducing the plaintiff to delay the filing of the action,
15or due to threats made by the defendant causing duress upon the
16plaintiff.

17(4) The suspension of the statute of limitations due to disability,
18lack of knowledge, or estoppel applies to all other related claims
19arising out of the trafficking situation.

20(5) The running of the statute of limitations is postponed during
21the pendency of criminal proceedings against the victim.

begin delete

22(e)

end delete

23begin insert(d)end insert The running of the statute of limitations may be suspended
24where a person entitled to sue could not have reasonably discovered
25the cause of action due to circumstances resulting from the
26trafficking situation, such as psychological trauma, cultural and
27linguistic isolation, and the inability to access services.

begin delete

28(f)

end delete

29begin insert(e)end insert A prevailing plaintiff may also be awarded reasonable
30attorney’s fees and litigation costs including, but not limited to,
31expert witness fees and expenses as part of the costs.

begin delete

32(g)

end delete

33begin insert(f)end insert Restitution paid by the defendant to the victim shall be
34credited against a judgment, award, or settlement obtained pursuant
35to this section. A judgment, award, or settlement obtained pursuant
36to an action under this section shall be subject to the provisions of
37Section 13963 of the Government Code.

begin delete

38(h)

end delete

39begin insert(g)end insert A civil action filed under this section shall be stayed during
40the pendency of any criminal action arising out of the same
P4    1occurrence in which the claimant is the victim. As used in this
2section, a “criminal action” includes investigation and prosecution,
3and is pending until a final adjudication in the trial court or
4dismissal.

5begin insert

begin insertSEC. 2.end insert  

end insert

begin insertSection 354.8 is added to the end insertbegin insertCode of Civil Procedureend insertbegin insert,
6to read:end insert

begin insert
7

begin insert354.8.end insert  

(a) Notwithstanding any other law, including, but not
8limited to Section 335.1, the following actions shall be commenced
9within 10 years:

10(1) An action for assault, battery, or both, where the conduct
11constituting the assault or battery would also constitute any of the
12following:

13(A) An act of torture, as described in Section 206 of the Penal
14Code.

15(B) An act of genocide, as described in Section 1091(a) of Title
1618 of the United States Code.

17(C) A war crime, as defined in Section 2441 of Title 18 of the
18United States Code.

19(D) An attempted extrajudicial killing, as defined in Section
203(a) of Public Law 102-256.

21(E) (i) Crimes against humanity.

22(ii) For purposes of this paragraph, “crimes against humanity”
23means any of the following acts as part of a widespread or
24systematic attack directed against a civil population, with
25knowledge of the attack:

26(I) Murder.

27(II) Extermination.

28(III) Enslavement.

29(IV) Forcible transfer of population.

30(V) Arbitrary detention.

31(VI) Rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced
32pregnancy, enforced sterilization, or any other form of sexual
33violence of comparable gravity.

34(VII) Persecution on political, race, national, ethnic, cultural,
35religious, or gender grounds.

36(VIII) Enforced disappearance of persons.

37(IX) Other inhuman acts of similar character intentionally
38causing great suffering, serious bodily injury, or serious mental
39injury.

P5    1(2) An action for wrongful death, where the death arises out of
2conduct constituting any of the acts described in paragraph (1),
3or where the death would constitute an extrajudicial killing, as
4defined in Section 3(a) of Public Law 102-256.

5(3) An action brought pursuant to Section 52.5 of the Civil Code.

6(4) An action for the taking of property in violation of
7international law, in which either of the following apply:

8(A) That property, or any property exchanged for such property,
9is present in the United States in connection with a commercial
10activity carried on in the United States by a foreign state.

11(B) That property, or any property exchanged for such property,
12is owned or operated by an agency or instrumentality of a foreign
13state and that agency or instrumentality is engaged in a commercial
14activity in the United States.

15(5) An action seeking benefits under an insurance policy where
16the insurance claim arises out of any of the conduct described in
17paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive.

18(b) An action brought under this section shall not be dismissed
19for failure to comply with any previously applicable statute of
20limitations.

21(c) Section 361 shall not apply to an action brought under this
22section.

23(d) A prevailing plaintiff may be awarded reasonable attorney’s
24fees and litigation costs including, but not limited to, expert witness
25fees and expenses as part of the costs.

26(e) This section shall be construed to apply retroactively, and
27shall apply regardless of when an action or claim accrues or is
28filed and regardless of whether it may have lapsed or otherwise
29been barred by time under the laws of the state.

30(f) This section shall apply to all pending and future actions
31commenced on or before January 1, 2016, including any actions
32dismissed based on the expiration of statutes of limitations in effect
33before January 1, 2016, if the judgment in that action is not yet
34final or if the time for filing an appeal from a decision on that
35action has not expired, if the action concerns an act described in
36paragraphs (1) to (5), inclusive, of subdivision (a), that occurred
37within 115 years before January 1, 2016.

38(g) The provisions of this section are severable. If any provision
39of this act or its application is held invalid, that invalidity shall
P6    1not affect other provisions or applications that can be given effect
2without the invalid provision or application.

end insert
begin delete
3

SECTION 1.  

(a) The Legislature finds and declares the
4following:

5(1) Raising the pay of low-wage workers increases their morale
6and the productivity and quality of their work, lowers turnover
7and its accompanying costs, and reduces supervisory costs.

8(2) These savings and quality improvements will lead to
9improved economy and efficiency in state government
10procurement.

11(b)  Accordingly, it is the intent of the Legislature to enact
12legislation that would increase efficiency and cost savings in the
13work performed by parties who contract with the state government
14by providing a living wage.

end delete


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