Under existing law, a plaintiff may seek damages for sexual assault that occurred on or after the plaintiff’s 18th birthday if one or more entities are legally responsible for damages and the entity or its agents engaged in a cover-up, as defined. This law revives claims that would otherwise have been time-barred before January 1, 2023. A plaintiff may proceed with an action if the claim was already pending in court on January 1, 2023, or if the plaintiff filed the action between January 1, 2023, and December 31, 2023.
AB 250 extends and expands this revival process. The bill permits plaintiffs to bring claims that would otherwise be barred before January 1, 2026, and allows those claims to move forward if they are already pending on January 1, 2026, or if they are filed between January 1, 2026, and December 31, 2027. A revived claim must allege that the plaintiff was sexually assaulted and that one or more entities or persons, including the perpetrator, are legally responsible for damages, as well as that an entity or its representatives engaged in or attempted a cover-up of a previous instance or allegation of sexual assault by the perpetrator.
The bill also revives claims directly against perpetrators of sexual assault when plaintiffs allege that entities or individuals are legally responsible for damages. It clarifies that failure to allege a cover-up against one entity does not prevent revival of claims against another entity or against the perpetrator. For purposes of this law, a “cover-up” means a concerted effort to hide evidence of sexual assault, including through nondisclosure or confidentiality agreements. An “entity” includes businesses and organizations, but not public entities. Public entities remain exempt, and the bill specifies that no public entity has a duty to indemnify perpetrators or other persons under revived claims.
In practice, AB 250 gives survivors an additional two-year window, from January 1, 2026, through December 31, 2027, to pursue civil claims that would otherwise be time-barred. The revival applies to claims against perpetrators and private entities that may have engaged in cover-ups, while excluding public entities from liability.
(AB 250 amends Code of Civil Procedure Section 340.16.)