Jamie Foxx, Bill Cosby, gynecologist Robert Hadden sued in run-up to New York's Adult Survivors Act deadline in deluge of sex abuse claims

NEW YORK — Jamie Foxx, Bill Cosby, Rikers Island, and disgraced Columbia University gynecologist Robert Hadden were among those named as defendants in a deluge of new sex abuse lawsuits before a window to bring time-barred claims under the Adult Survivors Act closes.

With just over 24 hours to go before the legislation expires, data provided by the state Office of Court Administration showed that nearly 1,400 cases had been filed under the law in New York’s supreme courts by nearly 1,800 people since it went into effect on Thanksgiving Day 2022. As of Nov. 1, just under 1,500 claims had been filed under the law in the Court of Claims, the majority of them by detainees alleging abuse inside prisons and jails, according to state court administrators.

The law has been cited in a raft of federal court lawsuits, too — including in last week’s quickly-settled lawsuit against rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs by Cassie Ventura — but there is no centralized data on how many. Manhattan Federal Judge Lewis Kaplan upheld its constitutionality in January in allowing E. Jean Carroll’s ultimately successful sexual assault lawsuit against Donald Trump to proceed.

Over the past 48 hours, lawsuits filed from Buffalo to Brooklyn to the Bronx accused Catholic priests, Franciscan brothers, and religious leaders of sexual abuse.

Jamie Foxx was accused of sexual assault and battery in a Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit by an anonymous woman who alleges he forced his hand down her pants at a Manhattan bar in 2015. His attorney could not immediately be reached.

Four women sued the city, alleging they were raped by correction officers while in custody on Rikers between 1988 to 2010. A spokesperson for the city DOC declined to address the specific allegations but said the department “has a zero tolerance policy toward all forms of sexual abuse” and has implemented training.

Several former patients of Hadden joined hundreds who have already sued the medical institutions where he worked, as did several former male patients of disgraced urologist Darius Paduch. Paduch was arrested on federal charges in April for systemic sexual abuse and has pleaded not guilty.

Cuba Gooding Jr. was sued by Kelsey Harbert, whom he was required to apologize to for groping her at a Manhattan bar in his guilty plea last year. Gooding’s lawyer Frank Rothman said he denied any intentional sexual contact.

Among the last to bring claims before the law expires was former NYPD Officer Meaghan Ciotti, who alleged the department enabled and covered up rampant abuse she suffered at the hands of fellow Officer Jamie Angelastro.

Ciotti’s Manhattan federal court suit alleges higher-ups retaliated against her after she reported being raped, sexually abused, and stalked by Angelastro, who she alleges sometimes threatened her at gunpoint.

“NYPD has a violent rapist named Jamie Angelastro freely roaming its halls. Instead of taking Ms. Ciotti seriously when she reported his abuse, NYPD blamed her while doing everything in its power to protect him,” said Ciotti’s lawyer, Susan Crumiller.

The NYPD declined to comment on ongoing litigation, and Angelastro’s union reps did not respond to inquiries. The Daily News could not reach him for comment.

As of Friday, New Yorkers will only have five years to bring claims for most types of sexual misconduct, including unwanted or forcible touching. In 2019, the window to bring claims for rape and certain forms of severe sexual violence was expanded from five to 20 years, but it cannot be applied retroactively.

Attorney Doug Wigdor said the one-year revival period afforded people with no legal recourse a path to justice.

“The passage of the Adult Survivors Acts has allowed victims an opportunity to come forward despite the passage of time and seek redress for the harm they have suffered,” Wigdor said.

Wigdor’s firm has filed 12 cases under the law, including last week’s against Combs, whose undisclosed settlement did not require him to admit wrongdoing. Wigdor’s firm also represents clients in disputed cases pending against Wall Street billionaire Leon Black and Jeffrey Epstein’s estate, convicted film producer Harvey Weinstein, and other industry titans.

The firm this week added three to its caseload in the lead-up to the statutory deadline, including one by a former patient of Hadden, who was convicted of sexually abusing his patients and sentenced to 20 years in prison earlier this year. Hundreds of his former patients have brought claims under the temporary legislation against the institutions where he committed his abuse, Columbia University and New York-Presbyterian.

In recent days, an anonymous woman represented by Wigdor’s firm sued Interscope Records co-founder Jimmy Iovine, who co-founded Beats with Dr. Dre, for alleged instances of sexual abuse and forcible touching in 2007. His lawyer did not return a call seeking comment.

In Manhattan Supreme Court, Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose was sued Wednesday by Sheila Kennedy for allegedly raping her in a Central Park West hotel room in 1989. He denies the allegations. A former stand-in on “The Cosby Show” accused the disgraced comedian in a suit Tuesday of drugging and raping her in the 1980s. His lawyer could not be reached.

Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal, who sponsored the legislation, said she’s exploring other avenues for sexual assault victims to seek justice.

“We’re contemplating introducing another bill, which would create another lookback window — whether one year or permanent, we’re grappling with,” Rosenthal told The News Wednesday. “Not everyone who wanted to file would have had the opportunity before the window closes.”

People who wish to file claims under the Adult Survivors Act have until 11:59 p.m. on Thursday.

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