On September 9, 2025, David Rutherford and New York Associate Michael Stuart obtained the dismissal of an action filed under New York’s Gender Motivated Violence Act (GMVA).  When the Act was passed in 2000, it created a civil rights cause of action permitting any person claiming to be injured by a party who commits a crime of violence motivated by gender to pursue a civil claim against such party.  In 2022 the Act was amended to permit claims not only against the perpetrator, but also any party who “directs, enables, participates in or conspires” in the commission of such a crime.  The 2022 Amendment also contained a lookback provision that opened a two-year window to revive previously time-barred claims.  In our case, suit was filed in 2025 for abuse that had taken place in 2001 to 2003.  In granting a dismissal of the case, the court agreed with our position that the 2022 Amendment was not be applied retroactively.  Thus, organizations cannot be subjected to revived civil claims for gender motivated crimes that took place prior to passage of the 2022 Amendment.