New York Criminal Lawyer Blog
A woman commenced an action against her former fiancé seeking damages sustained from physical abuse and violence allegedly committed by her fiancé.
A New York Sex Crimes Lawyer said the woman initiated a suit in the district court while her case was pending in the federal court. Her asserting claims are in accordance to the federal violence against women act. The Supreme Court struck down the violence against women act. As a result, the district court dismissed the woman’s claims under the act however the woman commenced an instant action.
Based on records, the congress passed the violence against women act and created a private reason of action for victims of gender-motivated violence against their opponents. Consequently, the Supreme Court struck down the civil resolution provision of the act, holding that the constitution provided no basis for the provision and deferred the suppression of violent crimes and evidence of its victims to the police power resting in the states. A New York Sex Crimes Lawyer said that three months after the decision, the council introduced the victims of gender motivated violence protection act to fill the void left by the Supreme Court’s decision and provided a private right of action for victims of gender-motivated violence against their opponents.
The woman’s complaint asserts reasons of action sounding in common-law intentional torts, fraud, and acts of gender-motivated violence. Consequently, the fiancé brings the motion to dismiss the fourth, fifth and sixth reasons of action in the revised complaint for failure to state the reasons. The woman’s fifth reason of action seeks recovery in accordance to the victims of gender motivated violence protection act. The fiancé contends that the act cannot apply retroactively to the woman’s claims, which accumulated prior to the passing of the local law.
The woman further asserts that the intimacy, psychological dependency and patterns of abuse that existed throughout her relationship with the fiancé were of such a degree to warrant a claim for domestic violence. The domestic cruelty torts refer to torts committed as part of the cruelty, such as assault, battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. There is no different tort of domestic violence that is a recognized reason of action. Since the complaint also fails to satisfy the elements of claim, the fourth reason of action is dismissed.
The woman’s sixth reason of action, alleging that she was fraudulently induced to undergo an abortion in return for a promise of marriage, is also dismissed. The deceitful promise to marry claim is a disguised contract claim for breach of a promise to marry, which is prohibited under the law. A Nassau County Sex Crimes Lawyer said since the woman’s allegations also fail to satisfy the necessary elements of fraud, the sixth reason is also dismissed.
The court concludes that the lawmaking body intended local law to apply retroactively. It is evident that the City Council’s intent was to fill the gap as soon as the lawmaker was decided by restoring the availability of a private remedy for domestic violence victims and that the overriding goal and purpose of local law was to provide a local solution as soon as the federal remedy was not available.
The court determines that the woman’s claims under local law would be contrary to the intent of the lawmaking body, contradict the purpose of the law, and leave the woman in the exact void created by the previous ruling that the law was clearly enacted to fill. Accordingly, the court finds that local law permits retroactive application of the woman’s claims, and the man’s motion to dismiss the fifth cause of action is denied. Further, a Queens Sex Crimes Lawyer said it is ordered that the fiancé’s motion to dismiss is granted only to the extent that the fourth and fifth reasons of action are dismissed.
It is hard for any woman to commence an action against her partner. However, women do have their limitations and rights. If you are one of the many women who experienced cruelty in the hands of your loved one, be guided by a NY Domestic Violence Lawyer in determining what course of action to consider. If you require assistance with your criminal suit, the New York Criminal Lawyers of Stephen Bilkis & Associates are most competent to assess and handle your case.