BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 15
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
15 (Holden)
As Amended May 6, 2015
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes |Ayes |Noes |
|----------------+------+---------------------+----------------------|
|Judiciary |10-0 |Mark Stone, Wagner, | |
| | |Alejo, Chau, Chiu, | |
| | |Gallagher, Cristina | |
| | |Garcia, Holden, | |
| | |Maienschein, | |
| | |O'Donnell | |
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SUMMARY: Creates a 10-year statute of limitations for civil
action tort claims where a victim can establish that the conduct
constitutes a human rights violation and extends the statute of
limitations for civil actions for human trafficking violations.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Allows a victim up to 10 years to bring a civil tort claim for
assault, battery or wrongful death, when a victim can establish
that the abuse also constitutes an act of torture, genocide, a
war crime, an attempted extrajudicial killing, or a crime
against humanity.
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2)Allows an award of reasonable attorney's fees and litigation
costs to a prevailing plaintiff.
3)Requires that a civil action be commenced within 10 years for
the taking of property in violation of international law, or a
civil action seeking benefits under an insurance policy, where
the insurance claim arises out of any conduct that constitutes a
human rights violation.
4)Provides that the provisions be construed to apply
retroactively, so long as the conduct or action on which the
claim is based occurred within 115 years before January 1, 2016.
5)Allows that all provisions of this section will apply to all
pending and statutorily barred actions commenced on or before
January 1, 2018, including any actions dismissed based on the
expiration of statues of limitations in effect before January 1,
2016, with limited exceptions.
6)Extends the applicable statutes of limitations for claims by
adults and minors: from within five years to within seven years
of the date on which the trafficking victim was freed for an
adult; and eight years to 10 years after attaining majority age
for a minor.
7)Requires that its provisions are severable and if any provisions
or applications are held to be invalid, that invalidity will
affect no other provisions or applications that are valid.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires that an action for assault, battery, or injury to, or
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for the wrongful death of, an individual be commenced within two
years.
2)Provides that any person who deprives or violates the personal
liberty of another intending to obtain forced labor or services,
is guilty of human trafficking and will be punished by
imprisonment in the state prison for five, eight, or 12 years
and a fine of not more than $500,000.
3)Provides that a victim of human trafficking may bring a civil
action for actual damages, compensatory damages, punitive
damages, injunctive relief, or any other appropriate relief. A
prevailing plaintiff may also be awarded attorney's fees and
costs, and up to three times his or her actual damages or
$10,000, whichever is greater. Punitive damages may also be
awarded upon proof of the defendant's malice, oppression, fraud,
or duress in committing the act of human trafficking. An action
will be commenced within five years of the date on which the
trafficking victim was freed or if a minor, when the act of
human trafficking occurred, within eight years after attaining
majority age.
4)Provides that every person who intends to cause cruel or extreme
pain and suffering for the purpose of revenge, extortion,
persuasion, or for any sadistic purpose, inflicts great bodily
injury upon the person of another is guilty of torture. The
crime of torture requires no proof that the victim suffered
pain.
5)Provides that whoever, whether in time of peace or in time of
war and with the specific intent to destroy, in whole or in
substantial part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious
group, is guilty of genocide and will be punished as provided by
law. Punishable acts include the following:
a) Kills members of that group;
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b) Causes serious bodily injury to members of that group;
c) Causes the permanent impairment of the mental faculties of
members of the group through drugs, torture, or similar
techniques;
d) Subjects the group to conditions of life intended to cause
the physical destruction of the group in whole or in part;
e) Imposes measures intended to prevent births within the
group; or
f) Transfers by force children of the group to another group;
6)Provides that whoever, whether inside or outside the United
States, commits a war crime, in any of the circumstances
described in subdivision (b), will be fined under this title or
imprisoned for life or any term of years, or both, and if death
results to the victim, will also be subject to the penalty of
death. The circumstances referred to in subdivision (a) are
that the person committing such war crime or the victim of such
war crime is a member of the Armed Forces of the United States
or a national of the United States. (18 United States Code
Section 2441(a) and (b).)
7)Provides that, under federal Torture Victim Protection Act of
1991, an individual who, under authority of any foreign nation
subjects an individual to torture or to extrajudicial killing
will be liable for damages to that individual or that
individual's legal representative or to any person who may be a
claimant in a wrongful death action.
8)Provides that, under the federal Alien Tort Claims Act/Alien
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Tort Statute, the district courts of the federal courts of the
United States will have original jurisdiction of any civil
action by an alien for a tort only, committed in violation of
the law of nations or a treaty of the United States.
FISCAL EFFECT: None
COMMENTS: This bill creates a new statute of limitations of 10
years in existing law relating to tort claims by victims of human
rights violations. It also extends the statute of limitations in
existing law relating to civil claims for human trafficking.
Specifically, this bill will primarily do four things: 1) allow
future victims of assault, battery, and wrongful death who can
establish that the conduct also constitutes torture, genocide, a
war crime, an attempted extrajudicial killing, or a crime against
humanity, 10 years to commence an action; 2) extend the statute of
limitation to 10 years for a civil action seeking benefits under
an insurance policy where the insurance claim arises out of an
action involving a human rights abuse; 3) allow its provisions to
be applied retroactively to revive claims by victims of human
rights abuses that occurred up to 115 years prior to January 1,
2016, under specified circumstances, as long as the action is
commenced prior to January 1, 2018; and 4) allow victims of human
trafficking to bring civil lawsuits within seven years of the date
on which the trafficking victim is freed, or if the victim was a
minor when the act of human trafficking occurred, within 10 years
after the date when the plaintiff attains the age of majority.
Access to California Courts Can Be Critical For Victims. Bringing
a lawsuit against perpetrators of human rights violations can
deliver justice, offer closure for victims, and act as a powerful
deterrent to future abuses. When the perpetrators of these
egregious acts are located in California, they should not be able
to avoid claims by hiding behind the fact that the acts took place
outside of the state or the country. Many of the foreign
locations where human rights violations occur do not have adequate
mechanisms in place to allow victims the opportunity to have their
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abuses addressed. Some of these foreign locations have weaker or
corrupt legal systems where victims do not stand a chance to
attain redress for their injuries. There have even been instances
where the foreign government condones the behavior or violations,
so protection for victims are nonexistent. This is why the need
for an extended statute of limitations for human rights abuses is
so great because an extended statute of limitations allows victims
time to escape oppressive environments, heal from their wounds,
find legal services and then bring their claims before a fair and
just court system. Some of the most atrocious human rights
violations have occurred in situations where the statute of
limitations was too short to allow victims to recover. Many
survivors suffer physical and psychological consequences,
post-traumatic stress disorders, depression, anxiety, grief and
other trauma and are not able to immediately bring their claims.
There is also the challenge of finding the right legal services
organization to handle the claim. According to those
organizations that fight for human rights victims and support this
measure, due to the sensitivity and often international nature of
human rights abuses, human rights claims require extraordinary
time and preparation and pose additional obstacles for victims who
need their wrongs to be heard the most.
Analysis Prepared by:
Khadijah Hargett / JUD. / (916) 319-2334 FN:
0000279
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