Amended in Senate June 23, 2015

Amended in Assembly May 7, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 830

Introduced by Assembly Member Eggman

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(Coauthors: Senators Jackson, Leno, Monning, and Wieckowski)

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February 26, 2015

An act to amend Section 52.4 begin delete of end delete begin insert of, and to add Section 52.45 to, end insert the Civil Code, relating to civil actions.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 830, as amended, Eggman. Civil actions: gender violence.

Existing law allows a person who has been subjected to gender violence to bring a civil action for damages against any responsible party and defines gender violence for this purpose as a crime of violence motivated by the gender of the victim or a physical intrusion or invasion of a sexual nature, as specified. The Unruh Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on a person’s sex, race, religion, or sexual orientation, among others, and specifies that sex includes gender, which includes a person’s gender identity and gender expression.

This bill, for the purposes of the former provision, would begin delete expand the definition of gender violence to include violence committed at least in part based on the sexual orientation of the victim, as specified, and would end delete specify that gender has the same meaning as in the Unruh Civil Rights Act. begin insert The bill would also allow a person who has been subject to sexual orientation violence, as defined, to bring a civil action for damages against any responsible party under provisions identical to those for gender violence. end insert

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 52.4 of the Civil Code is amended to
read:

52.4.  

(a) Any person who has been subjected to gender
violence may bring a civil action for damages against any
responsible party. The plaintiff may seek 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) An action brought pursuant to this section shall be
commenced within three years of the act, or if the victim was a
minor when the act occurred, within eight years after the date the
plaintiff attains the age of majority or within three years after the
date the plaintiff discovers or reasonably should have discovered
the psychological injury or illness occurring after the age of
majority that was caused by the act, whichever date occurs later.

(c) For purposes of this section, “gender violence” is a form of
sex discrimination and means either of the following:

(1) One or more acts that would constitute a criminal offense
under state law that has as an element the use, attempted use, or
threatened use of physical force against the person or property of
another, committed at least in part based on the gender begin delete or sexual
orientation end delete of the victim, whether or not those acts have resulted
in criminal complaints, charges, prosecution, or conviction.

(2) A physical intrusion or physical invasion of a sexual nature
under coercive conditions, whether or not those acts have resulted
in criminal complaints, charges, prosecution, or conviction.

(d) For purposes of this section, “gender” has the meaning set
forth in Section 51.

(e)  Notwithstanding any other laws that may establish the
liability of an employer for the acts of an employee, this section
does not establish any civil liability of a person because of his or
her status as an employer, unless the employer personally
committed an act of gender violence.

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begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

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begin insert Section 52.45 is added to the end insert begin insert Civil Code end insert begin insert , end insert immediately
following Section 52.4 begin insert , to read: end insert

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begin insert 52.45. end insert   

(a) Any person who has been subjected to sexual
orientation violence may bring a civil action for damages against
any responsible party. The plaintiff may seek 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) An action brought pursuant to this section shall be
commenced within three years of the act, or if the victim was a
minor when the act occurred, within eight years after the date the
plaintiff attains the age of majority or within three years after the
date the plaintiff discovers or reasonably should have discovered
the psychological injury or illness occurring after the age of
majority that was caused by the act, whichever date occurs later.

(c) For purposes of this section, “sexual orientation violence”
means one or more acts that would constitute a criminal offense
under state law that has as an element the use, attempted use, or
threatened use of physical force against the person or property of
another, committed at least in part based on the sexual orientation
of the victim, whether or not those acts have resulted in criminal
complaints, charges, prosecution, or conviction.

(d) Notwithstanding any other laws that may establish the
liability of an employer for the acts of an employee, this section
does not establish any civil liability of a person because of his or
her status as an employer, unless the employer personally
committed an act of sexual orientation violence.

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