AB 1510 and other legislation: Game changers for sexual assault victims

Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed into law Assembly Bill 1510, which is aimed at giving sexual assault survivors of Dr. George Tyndall a chance to seek justice in state civil courts against the disgraced former University of Southern California gynecologist. Tyndall is accused of molesting thousands of women in his care for nearly three decades.

The new law, which was sponsored by Consumer Attorneys of California, allows former students to press ahead with legal claims that faced being denied because the statute of limitations on their cases may have run out. AB 1510 is the first step toward providing women throughout California, and eventually the nation, with a pursuit of justice that reflects a better, more equitable approach to the law.

To date, well over 700 former students have filed civil lawsuits in California state court against Tyndall and USC for sexual battery and abuse with some accusations dating back to the late 1980s. AB 1510 gives each Tyndall survivor a choice -- they can pursue a lawsuit in state civil court, or they can remain in a federal class-action settlement with USC.

The facts leading up to the need for this new legislation are as disturbing as they are disgusting. The Los Angeles Times first reported in May of 2018 that Tyndall was the subject of a sex abuse investigation. After the report came out, hundreds of women came forward making similar claims and exposing USC's coverup of countless incidents over decades. Tyndall has since been arrested and charged with 29 felonies related to allegations by 16 women, and that list will surely grow as the District Attorney's office is looking into 700 more claims.

In typical fashion when a large, male-dominated institution entrenched in a by-gone era is exposed, USC handled things without regard to the women who had been victimized by Tyndall's behavior. Tyndall was placed on administrative leave in 2016 and actually was offered a severance package once USC performed its own investigation and discovered his pattern of behavior. USC took the position that it had no obligation to inform the women he'd abused, nor the California Medical Board, and so his thousands of patients had to find out about his history in news items and social media.

While this law is specific to George Tyndall and USC, it is a huge leap forward in helping to protect victims of sexual misconduct by giving them a voice. Women have for decades spoken up about poor treatment, sexual harassment, and sexual assault only to find road block after road block. Typical statute of limitations meant that any woman who faced the trauma of a sexual assault -- and who waited too long to come forward and expose sexual misconduct -- was unable to fight for her rights. Men in powerful positions have been able to hide behind antiquated laws which have ignored current psychological research and discoveries on how people process sexual trauma.

In addition to AB 1510, the governor also signed into law AB 218 the most far-reaching childhood sexual abuse law in the nation. The new law increases the statute of limitations to age 40 and gives the survivors of such abuse five years from the date they discover their abuse to file their lawsuit.

Although not specifically a sexual assault bill, AB 51 which was also signed into law by Newsom, ensures that workers cannot be required to waive their right to their day in court for any workplace claims, including claims of sexual misconduct.

As has become readily apparent, victims of sexual assault are not typical victims of wrongdoing. The psychological and emotional trauma can be debilitating and many times is denied or not accepted by the victims. Self-doubt and embarrassment can overwhelm the expected reactions and thus many victims do not process the depth of the assault and the impact on their lives.

These types of legislation and other laws being passed around the country are signs of a sea change as it relates to victims of sexual assault. It appears that the effect of denial, trauma and suppressed memories and the damage caused by such horrific conduct is finding its recognition in the current legislative trends. While long overdue, I expect there will be much more legislation in this area to come.

Mike Arias is a founding and managing partner at Arias Sanguinetti Wang & Torrijos LLP. He was named a 2019 Top 100 Attorney and Top 30 Plaintiffs Attorney in California by the Daily Journal and serves in a number of leadership roles in the trial lawyer community.