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 |
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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
AB 15 (Holden) Page 2 of
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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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