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New York Senate Panel Advances Bill Letting Sex-Trafficking Survivors Sue Deceased Abusers’ Estates

The next hurdle is finding an Assembly sponsor before the session ends June 4.

Overview

  • The Senate Codes Committee, following survivor testimony Monday, advanced Sen. Zellnor Myrie’s bill on a unanimous, bipartisan vote.
  • The measure would remove New York’s bar on suing a deceased perpetrator’s estate and open a one-year window to revive time-barred sex-trafficking claims.
  • It would also expand liability to people and businesses that enable or profit from trafficking, naming hotels, banks and travel firms.
  • The bill still needs an Assembly sponsor and floor votes in both chambers before it can reach the governor.
  • Gov. Kathy Hochul has not stated a position, and attorneys warn the Epstein estate is shrinking, increasing pressure to act.