BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



          SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                             Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
                            2015 - 2016  Regular  Session

          AB 15 (Holden) - Limitation of actions:  human rights abuses
          
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          |Version: July 15, 2015          |Policy Vote: JUD. 5 - 0, JUD. 6 |
          |                                |          - 0, JUD. 6 - 0       |
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          |Urgency: No                     |Mandate: No                     |
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          |Hearing Date: August 17, 2015   |Consultant: Jolie Onodera       |
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          This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.




          Bill  
          Summary:  AB 15 would extend the statute of limitations for  
          victims of human trafficking to bring a civil action, as  
          specified, and would create a 10-year statute of limitations to  
          bring actions for specified offenses when the conduct would also  
          constitute torture, genocide, a war crime, an attempted  
          extrajudicial killing, or a crime against humanity, as defined.


          Fiscal  
          Impact:  Unknown, potentially significant increase in state  
          court costs (General Fund) to the extent extending the statutes  
          of limitations to bring civil actions in specified cases, as  
          well as exempting claims otherwise barred under out-of-state or  
          foreign statutes of limitations, results in additional claims.  
          To the extent 10 additional claims are filed in any one year,  
          assuming one week of court time, annual costs would be in the  
          range of $250,000 (General Fund). 






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          *Trial Court Trust Fund


          Background:  Existing law requires a civil action brought by a victim of  
          human trafficking, as defined, to be commenced within five 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  
          occurred, within eight years after the date the plaintiff  
          attains the age of majority. (Civil Code § 52.5.)
          Under existing law, the general statute of limitations in  
          California to bring an action for assault, battery, or injury  
          to, or for the death of, an individual caused by the wrongful  
          act or neglect of another, is two years. (Code of Civil  
          Procedure (CCP) § 335.1.)


          Pursuant to Section 361 of the CCP, "when a cause of action has  
          arisen in another State, or in a foreign country, and by the  
          laws thereof an action thereon cannot there be maintained  
          against a person by reason of the lapse of time, an action  
          thereon shall not be maintained against him in this State,  
          except in favor of one who has been a citizen of this State, and  
          who has held the cause of action from the time it accrued."


          This bill seeks to extend the statutes of limitations for  
          bringing a civil action in human trafficking cases and other  
          violations of law involving human rights abuses. Additionally,  
          this bill seeks to provide an exemption from current state law  
          that prohibits claims that otherwise would have been ineligible  
          in another state or country to be brought under the new statute  
          of limitations created in this measure.




          Proposed Law:  
           This bill would extend the existing statute of limitations for  
          victims of human trafficking to bring a civil action from five  
          to seven years, and, in the case of minors, from eight to 10  
          years after the plaintiff attains the age of majority.  
          Additionally, this bill would create a 10-year statute of  
          limitations to bring the following actions: 
           For assault, battery, or both, where the conduct constituting  







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            the assault or battery would also constitute specified acts of  
            torture, genocide, a war crime, attempted extrajudicial  
            killing, or crimes against humanity;   
           For wrongful death, where the death arises out of conduct  
            constituting any of the acts described above, or where the  
            death would constitute an extrajudicial killing under the  
            federal Torture Victim Protection Act of 1991;  
           For specified takings of property in violation of  
            international law;
           For seeking benefits under an insurance policy where the  
            insurance claim arises out of any of the conduct described  
            above.   

          With regard to the above 10-year statutes of limitations  
          provisions, this bill:
           
           Prohibits an action from being dismissed for failure to comply  
            with any previously applicable statute of limitations.
           Specifies that CCP § 361, which prohibits an action from being  
            maintained against a person in this State (except in favor of  
            a citizen of California who has held the cause of action from  
            the time it accrued) when a cause of action has arisen in  
            another state or a foreign country, and by the laws thereof an  
            action cannot there be maintained against a person by reason  
            of lapse of time, shall not apply to an action brought under  
            this bill.
           Specifies that its provisions apply to all actions commenced  
            concerning an act described under the bill that occurs on or  
            after January 1, 2016.


          Prior  
          Legislation:  AB 22 (Lieber) Chapter 240/2005, among other  
          provisions, extended the statute of limitations for bringing a  
          civil action for human trafficking to five years from 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 occurred, the action must be brought within eight  
          years after the date the plaintiff attains the age of majority.


          Staff  
          Comments:  By extending the statute of limitations for bringing a civil  
          action against an individual, as well as providing an exemption  
          for actions that otherwise would have been barred under  







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          out-of-state or foreign statutes of limitations, this bill could  
          potentially result in increased causes of action filed with the  
          trial courts. 

          It is unknown how many additional claims will be brought under  
          the prospective provisions of this bill, but for every 10  
          additional claims brought forward statewide, assuming one week  
          of court time, costs would be in the range of $250,000 (General  
          Fund), utilizing an estimated hourly court cost of $600.


          Recommended  
          Amendments:  The author has committed to working on amendments  
          to address concerns raised in the Senate Judiciary Committee  
          with regard to the exemption from CCP § 361created in the bill.


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