For Immediate Release July 11, 2002 LAWSUIT AGAINST ANTI-VIOLENCE PROJECT DISMISSED
New York - In an important decision for rape crisis centers and other victims' support groups throughout New York,the New York Supreme Court yesterday dismissed a lawsuit brought against the New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project ("AVP") by two men accused of raping an AVP client. After the client filed a police report, one of the
men was arrested and indicted on multiple counts of sexual assault. The other attempted suicide after learning that charges would be brought against him. The two plaintiffs sought $5 million from AVP, claiming that AVP and its personnel were "negligent" in failing to conduct a forensic investigation of the incident before helping its client file a
police report. Among other things, the plaintiffs claimed that AVP should have subjected its client to a medical exam,and interviewed his accused assailants, before turning the matter over to the police. Justice Alice Schlesinger of the New York Supreme Court, New York County, dismissed the case on the ground that rape crisis programs have no such
obligations. Justice Schlesinger agreed with AVP's position that, as a matter of public policy, a rape crisis program owes a legal duty to its clients, but not to their alleged assailants. Justice Schlesinger announced her ruling on the record yesterday, immediately after the parties' lawyers completed their arguments on AVP's motion to dismiss the case.
"This is obviously the right result," said Richard Haymes, AVP's executive director and a named defendant in the suit. Haymes added, "It is the job of the police to determine whether there is probable cause and, if so, to arrest, and that of grand juries to indict. Programs such as AVP have a different job: they exist to help their clients in the aftermath of violence. Claims such as those brought by these plaintiffs' would have had deleterious public policy implications and needlessly impeded the missions of victim services agencies. A rape crisis program could not do its job properly if every time a client filed a police report the program risked a lawsuit like this one." Haymes also noted that Justice Schlesinger clearly understood the implications of the case for other victims' advocacy organizations. During the hearing, Justice Schlesinger compared AVP to a battered women's shelter, and suggested that it would be poor public policy if such an organization could not shelter a client, or assist her in obtaining an order of protection from a court, until it went out and interviewed the alleged batterer.
AVP is represented pro bono by Joseph Evall, Michael Stolper, Tara Myslinski, and Brad Boyd of the New York office of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, and by Barbara Moses, of Morvillo, Abramowitz, Grand, Iason & Silberberg, P.C.
The New York City Gay & Lesbian Anti-Violence Project (AVP) is the nation’s largest service agency for victims of sexual assault within lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual, and HIV-affected communities. Traditionally, rape crisis centers have been ill-prepared to deal with these victims. For more than twenty years, AVP has provided counseling and advocacy for thousands of victims of sexual assault as well as for survivors of bias crimes, domestic violence, HIV-related violence, and police misconduct. AVP educates the public about violence against or within our communities and works to reform public policies impacting all lesbian, gay,transgender, bisexual, and HIV-affected people. AVP provides free and confidential assistance to crime victims through our 24-hour bilingual hotline (212-714-1141).
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