AB 1682, as amended, Mark Stone. Confidential settlement agreements: sexual offenses.
Existing law prohibits a confidential settlement agreement in a civil action with a factual foundation establishing a cause of action for civil damages for an act that may be prosecuted as a felony sex offense. Existing law provides that the prohibition does not affect the ability of parties to enter into a settlement agreement or stipulated agreement requiring nondisclosure of the amount of money paid in settlement of a claim.
This bill would additionally prohibit a confidentialitybegin insert or secrecyend insert provision in a settlement agreement in a civil action with a factual foundation establishing a cause of action for civil damages for an act of childhood sexual abuse or sexual exploitation of abegin delete minor,end deletebegin insert
minor or an act of sexual assault against an elder or dependent adult,end insert as specified.begin insert The bill would prohibit a court from entering an order in any of these types of civil actions that restricts access to information obtained through discovery, as prescribed.end insert The bill would repeal the provision specifying that a settlement agreement or stipulated agreement that requires nondisclosure of the amount of money paid in settlement of a claim is not prohibited. The bill would make a confidentialitybegin insert or secrecyend insert provision in a settlement agreement, as described in the bill, entered into on or after January 1, 2017, void as a matter of law and against public policy. The bill wouldbegin delete makeend deletebegin insert
provide thatend insert an attorney who demands such a confidentialitybegin insert or secrecyend insert provision in a settlement agreement as a condition of settlement or who advises a client to sign an agreement with such a confidentialitybegin insert or secrecyend insert provisionbegin insert is presumed to have committed an act involving moral turpitude that isend insert subject to professional discipline and would require the State Bar of California to investigate and take appropriate action in cases brought to its attention.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 1002 of the Code of Civil Procedure is
2amended to read:
(a) Notwithstanding any other law, a confidentialitybegin insert or
4secrecyend insert provision within a settlement agreement is prohibited in
5any civil action the factual foundation for which establishes a cause
6of action for civil damages for any of the following:
7(1) An act that may be prosecuted as a felony sex offense.
8(2) An act of childhood sexual abuse, as defined in Section
9340.1.
10(3) An act of sexual exploitation of a minor, as defined in
11Section 11165.1 of the Penal Code, or conduct prohibited with
12
respect to a minor pursuant to Sections 311.1, 311.5, or 311.6 of
13the Penal Code.
14
(4) An act of sexual assault, as defined in paragraphs (1) to (9),
15inclusive, of subdivision (e) of Section 15610.63 of the Welfare
16and Institutions Code, against an elder or dependent adult, as
17defined in Sections 15610.23 and 15610.7 of the Welfare and
18Institutions Code.
19
(b) Notwithstanding any other law, in a civil action described
20in subdivision (a), a court shall not enter, by stipulation or
21otherwise, an order that does any of the following:
P3 1
(1) Restricts the disclosure of information obtained through
2discovery.
3
(2) Approves a settlement agreement that would restrict the
4disclosure of information obtained through discovery.
5
(3) Restricts access to court records regarding information
6obtained through discovery.
7(b) Subdivision (a) does
end delete
8begin insert(c)end insertbegin insert end insertbegin insertSubdivisions (a) and (b) doend insert not preclude an agreement
9preventing the disclosure of any medical information or personal
10identifying information, as defined in subdivision (b) of
Section
11530.55 of the Penal Code, regarding the victim of the offense listed
12in subdivision (a) or of any information revealing the nature of the
13relationship between the victim and the defendant. This subdivision
14shall not be construed to limit the right of a crime victim to disclose
15this information.
23 16(c)
end delete
17begin insert(d)end insert Except as authorized by subdivisionbegin delete (b),end deletebegin insert (c),end insert a confidentiality
18begin insert or secrecyend insert
provision within a settlement agreement described in
19subdivision (a) that is entered into on or after January 1, 2017, is
20void as a matter of law and against public policy. An attorney who
21demands a confidentialitybegin insert or secrecyend insert provision within a settlement
22agreement described in subdivision (a), that is not otherwise
23authorized by subdivisionbegin delete (b),end deletebegin insert
(c),end insert as a condition of settlement or
24who advises a client to sign an agreement with such a
25confidentialitybegin insert or secrecyend insert provisionbegin insert is presumed to have committed
26an act involving moral turpitude, as set forth in Section 6106 of
27the Business and Professions Code andend insert shall be subject to
28professional discipline and the State Bar of California shall
29investigate and take appropriate action in any such case brought
30to its attention.
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