S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    410
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 8, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens. GOUNARDES, COMRIE, GIANARIS, GONZALEZ, HOYLMAN-SI-
   GAL, JACKSON, MYRIE, RAMOS, RIVERA, SALAZAR, SEPULVEDA --  read  twice
   and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee
   on Judiciary

 AN  ACT to amend the civil practice law and rules and the executive law,
   in relation to  jury  awards  for  unlawful  discriminatory  practices
   relating to employment
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision (a) of rule 4404 of the civil practice law  and
 rules,  such  rule  as renumbered by chapter 315 of the laws of 1962, is
 amended to read as follows:
   (a) Motion after trial where jury required. After a trial of  a  cause
 of  action  or  issue triable of right by a jury, upon the motion of any
 party or on its own initiative, the court may set aside a verdict or any
 judgment entered thereon and direct that judgment be entered in favor of
 a party entitled to judgment as a matter of law or it may  order  a  new
 trial  of  a  cause  of  action  or separable issue where the verdict is
 contrary to the weight of the evidence, in the interest  of  justice  or
 where  the jury cannot agree after being kept together for as long as is
 deemed reasonable by the court. NO COURT SHALL ORDER A NEW TRIAL ON  THE
 GROUND THAT THE JURY AWARD WAS EXCESSIVE, OR OTHERWISE ACT TO REDUCE THE
 JURY'S  AWARD  IN  A  CASE INVOLVING AN UNLAWFUL DISCRIMINATORY PRACTICE
 UNDER SECTION TWO HUNDRED NINETY-SIX OF THE EXECUTIVE  LAW  RELATING  TO
 EMPLOYMENT,  INCLUDING  A  CLAIM  BY  A  NON-EMPLOYEE  UNDER SECTION TWO
 HUNDRED NINETY-SIX-D OF THE EXECUTIVE LAW, OR UNDER ANY ANALOGOUS  LOCAL
 OR  MUNICIPAL  HUMAN RIGHTS LAW, IF APPLICABLE, WITHOUT FULLY SATISFYING
 THE PERTINENT STANDARDS SET FORTH IN PARAGRAPH TWO OF SUBDIVISION (C) OF
 SECTION FIFTY-FIVE HUNDRED ONE OF THIS  CHAPTER  AND  PARAGRAPH  (B)  OF
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD00984-01-5
              

 S. 410                              2
 
 SUBDIVISION  NINE  OF  SECTION TWO HUNDRED NINETY-SEVEN OF THE EXECUTIVE
 LAW.
   §  2.  Subdivision  (c)  of section 5501 of the civil practice law and
 rules, as amended by chapter 474 of the laws of 1997, is amended to read
 as follows:
   (c) Appellate division. 1. The appellate division shall  review  ques-
 tions of law and questions of fact on an appeal from a judgment or order
 of  a  court  of original instance and on an appeal from an order of the
 supreme court, a county  court  or  an  appellate  term  determining  an
 appeal.   The notice of appeal from an order directing summary judgment,
 or directing judgment on a motion addressed to the pleadings,  shall  be
 deemed  to  specify  a judgment upon said order entered after service of
 the notice of appeal and before entry of  the  order  of  the  appellate
 court  upon such appeal, without however affecting the taxation of costs
 upon the appeal.  In reviewing a money judgment in an action in which an
 itemized verdict is required by rule forty-one hundred  eleven  of  this
 chapter  in  which it is contended that the award is excessive or inade-
 quate and that a new trial should have been granted unless a stipulation
 is entered to a different award, the appellate division shall  determine
 that  an award is excessive or inadequate if it deviates materially from
 what would be reasonable compensation.
   2. WHERE AN AWARD IS MADE BY A JURY FOR ANY DAMAGES IN A CASE  INVOLV-
 ING  AN UNLAWFUL DISCRIMINATORY PRACTICE UNDER SECTION TWO HUNDRED NINE-
 TY-SIX OF THE EXECUTIVE LAW RELATING TO EMPLOYMENT, OR UNDER ANY  ANALO-
 GOUS  LOCAL  OR  MUNICIPAL  HUMAN  RIGHTS  LAW,  INCLUDING  A CLAIM BY A
 NON-EMPLOYEE UNDER SECTION TWO HUNDRED  NINETY-SIX-D  OF  THE  EXECUTIVE
 LAW,  THE  JURY'S VERDICT IS PRESUMED TO BE CORRECT. ANY SUCH JURY AWARD
 SHALL NOT BE DISTURBED UNLESS THE COURT FINDS, REVIEWING THE EVIDENCE IN
 THE LIGHT MOST FAVORABLE TO SUSTAINING THE VERDICT, EXCEPTIONAL  CIRCUM-
 STANCES  WHICH COMPEL THE CONCLUSION THAT (I) THE JURY WAS INFLUENCED BY
 PARTIALITY, PREJUDICE, MISTAKE OR CORRUPTION,  AND  (II)  REMITTITUR  OR
 ADDITUR  IS  NECESSARY  TO  AVOID  A COMPLETE MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE. IN
 MAKING SUCH DETERMINATION, THE COURT SHALL GIVE PRIMARY  WEIGHT  TO  THE
 REMEDIAL  PURPOSE OF THE LAW, AND SHALL NOT LIMIT ANY AWARD BY USING ANY
 CHARACTERIZATIONS OF OTHER DAMAGE AWARDS. IN ANY SUCH  CASE,  THE  COURT
 SHALL  NOT BE BOUND BY ANY PRECEDENT WHICH UTILIZED THE CONCEPT OF MATE-
 RIAL DEVIATION FROM WHAT WOULD BE REASONABLE COMPENSATION, OR A  JUDGE'S
 PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE OR EXPERIENCES FROM PRIOR CASES.
   §  3. Subdivision 9 of section 297 of the executive law, as amended by
 chapter 140 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read as follows:
   9. (A) Any person claiming to be aggrieved by an unlawful  discrimina-
 tory  practice  shall have a cause of action in any court of appropriate
 jurisdiction for damages, including, in cases  of  employment  discrimi-
 nation  related  to  private  employers and housing discrimination only,
 punitive damages, and such other remedies as may be appropriate, includ-
 ing any civil fines and penalties provided in subdivision four  of  this
 section,  unless such person had filed a complaint hereunder or with any
 local commission on human rights, or with the superintendent pursuant to
 the provisions of section two  hundred  ninety-six-a  of  this  article,
 provided  that,  where  the division has dismissed such complaint on the
 grounds of administrative convenience, on the grounds  of  untimeliness,
 or on the grounds that the election of remedies is annulled, such person
 shall  maintain  all  rights  to  bring suit as if no complaint had been
 filed with the division. At any time prior to a hearing before a hearing
 examiner, a person who has a  complaint  pending  at  the  division  may
 request  that  the  division  dismiss the complaint and annul his or her
 S. 410                              3
 
 election of remedies so that the human rights law claim may  be  pursued
 in court, and the division may, upon such request, dismiss the complaint
 on  the  grounds that such person's election of an administrative remedy
 is annulled. Notwithstanding subdivision (a) of section two hundred four
 of  the  civil  practice law and rules, if a complaint is so annulled by
 the division, upon the request of  the  party  bringing  such  complaint
 before  the  division, such party's rights to bring such cause of action
 before a court of appropriate jurisdiction shall be limited by the stat-
 ute of limitations in effect in such court at the time the complaint was
 initially filed with the division. Any party to a housing discrimination
 complaint shall have the right within twenty days following  a  determi-
 nation  of probable cause pursuant to subdivision two of this section to
 elect to have an action commenced in a  civil  court,  and  an  attorney
 representing  the  division of human rights will be appointed to present
 the complaint in court, or, with the consent of the division,  the  case
 may  be  presented  by  complainant's attorney. A complaint filed by the
 equal employment opportunity commission to comply with the  requirements
 of  42  USC  2000e-5(c)  and 42 USC 12117(a) and 29 USC 633(b) shall not
 constitute the filing of a complaint within the meaning of this subdivi-
 sion. No person who has initiated any action in  a  court  of  competent
 jurisdiction  or  who  has  an  action pending before any administrative
 agency under any other law of the state based upon an act which would be
 an unlawful discriminatory practice  under  this  article,  may  file  a
 complaint with respect to the same grievance under this section or under
 section  two  hundred  ninety-six-a of this article. In cases of housing
 discrimination only, a person whose complaint has been dismissed by  the
 division  after investigation for lack of jurisdiction or lack of proba-
 ble cause may file the same cause of action in a  court  of  appropriate
 jurisdiction  pursuant  to  this section, unless judicial review of such
 dismissal has been sought pursuant to section two  hundred  ninety-eight
 of  this  article. The attorney general shall have the power to commence
 an action or proceeding in the supreme court of the state of  New  York,
 if,  upon  information or belief, the attorney general is of the opinion
 that an employer has been, is, or is about  to  violate  the  provisions
 regarding  unlawful  discriminatory  retaliation pursuant to subdivision
 seven of section two hundred ninety-six of this article. Nothing in this
 section shall in any way limit rights or remedies  which  are  otherwise
 available  under law to the attorney general or any other person author-
 ized to bring an action under this section.
   (B) A VERDICT INVOLVING  AN  UNLAWFUL  DISCRIMINATORY  PRACTICE  UNDER
 SECTION  TWO  HUNDRED NINETY-SIX OF THIS ARTICLE RELATING TO EMPLOYMENT,
 INCLUDING A CLAIM BY A NON-EMPLOYEE UNDER SECTION  TWO  HUNDRED  NINETY-
 SIX-D OF THIS ARTICLE, OR UNDER ANY ANALOGOUS LOCAL OR HUMAN RIGHTS LAW,
 IF  APPLICABLE, SHALL NOT BE SUBJECT TO REMITTITUR OR ADDITUR, OR GRANT-
 ING OF A MOTION FOR NEW TRIAL ON THE GROUND THAT THE VERDICT WAS  EXCES-
 SIVE  OR INADEQUATE, OR OTHERWISE REDUCED OR INCREASED, UNLESS THE COURT
 FINDS, REVIEWING THE EVIDENCE IN THE LIGHT MOST FAVORABLE TO  SUSTAINING
 THE  VERDICT, EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES WHICH COMPEL THE CONCLUSION THAT
 (I) THE  JURY  WAS  INFLUENCED  BY  PARTIALITY,  PREJUDICE,  MISTAKE  OR
 CORRUPTION  AND  (II) THAT REMITTITUR OR ADDITUR IS NECESSARY TO AVOID A
 COMPLETE MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE. IN MAKING SUCH DETERMINATION, THE COURT
 SHALL GIVE PRIMARY WEIGHT TO THE REMEDIAL PURPOSE OF THE LAW, AND  SHALL
 NOT  LIMIT  ANY  AWARD  BY  USING  ANY CHARACTERIZATIONS OF OTHER DAMAGE
 AWARDS. IN ANY SUCH CASE, THE COURT SHALL NOT BE BOUND BY ANY  PRECEDENT
 WHICH  UTILIZED  THE  CONCEPT  OF  MATERIAL DEVIATION FROM WHAT WOULD BE
 REASONABLE COMPENSATION.  THIS PROVISION IS SUBSTANTIVE  IN  NATURE,  AS
 S. 410                              4
 
 OPPOSED  TO  PROCEDURAL,  AND  SHALL  BE  SO  APPLIED  IN ANY EMPLOYMENT
 DISCRIMINATION ACTION UNDER THIS ARTICLE, REGARDLESS OF FORUM.
   §  4.  This  act  shall take effect immediately and shall apply to all
 pending cases where a verdict has not yet been reached as of such effec-
 tive date, as well as all claims filed on or after such effective date.