Amended in Senate July 15, 2015

Amended in Assembly May 6, 2015

Amended in Assembly March 26, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 15

Introduced by Assembly Member Holden

December 1, 2014

An act 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.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 15, as amended, Holden. Limitation of actions: human rights abuses.

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.

This bill would require a civil action for human trafficking, as defined, to be commenced within 7 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 10 years after the date the plaintiff attains the age of majority.

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.

This bill would require (1) 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, (2) a civil action for the taking of property in violation of international law, as defined, or (3) 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 begin delete would require these provisions to be construed as applying retroactively and end delete would provide that begin delete these end delete begin insert the end insert provisions are severable, as specified.

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

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

SECTION 1.  

Section 52.5 of the Civil Code is amended to
read:

52.5.  

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

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

(c) An action brought pursuant to this section shall be
commenced within seven 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 10 years after the date the plaintiff attains the age
of majority.

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

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

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

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

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

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

(e) The running of the statute of limitations may be suspended
if a person entitled to sue could not have reasonably discovered
the cause of action due to circumstances resulting from the
trafficking situation, such as psychological trauma, cultural and
linguistic isolation, and the inability to access services.

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

(g) Restitution paid by the defendant to the victim shall be
credited against a judgment, award, or settlement obtained pursuant
to this section. A judgment, award, or settlement obtained pursuant
to an action under this section shall be subject to Section 13963
of the Government Code.

(h) A civil action filed under this section shall be stayed during
the pendency of any criminal action arising out of the same
occurrence in which the claimant is the victim. As used in this
section, a “criminal action” includes investigation and prosecution,
and is pending until a final adjudication in the trial court or
dismissal.

SEC. 2.  

Section 354.8 is added to the Code of Civil Procedure,
to read:

354.8.  

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

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

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

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

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

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

(E) (i) Crimes against humanity.

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

(I) Murder.

(II) Extermination.

(III) Enslavement.

(IV) Forcible transfer of population.

(V) Arbitrary detention.

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

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

(VIII) Enforced disappearance of persons.

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

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

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

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

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

(4) An action seeking benefits under an insurance policy where
the insurance claim arises out of any of the conduct described in
paragraphs (1) to (3), inclusive.

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

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

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

(e)  begin delete (1) end delete begin delete   end delete This section shall apply to all actions commenced
concerning an act described in paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive, of
subdivision (a), that occurs on or after January 1, 2016.

begin delete

(2) This section shall also be construed to apply retroactively,
and shall apply regardless of when an action or claim accrues or
is filed and regardless of whether it may have lapsed or otherwise
been barred by time under the laws of the state, if the conduct or
action upon which the victim’s or plaintiff’s claim is based
occurred within 115 years before January 1, 2016.

(f) This section shall apply to all pending and statutorily-barred
actions commenced on or before January 1, 2018, including any
actions dismissed based on the expiration of statutes of limitations
in effect before January 1, 2016, if the judgment in that action is
not yet final or if the time for filing an appeal from a decision on
that action has not expired, if the action concerns an act described
in paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive, of subdivision (a), that occurred
within 115 years before January 1, 2016.

(g) 

end delete

begin insert (f) end insert begin insert   end insert The provisions of this section are severable. If any provision
of this begin delete act end delete begin insert section end insert or its application is held invalid, that invalidity
shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given
effect without the invalid provision or application.