New York City is seeking to end its law department’s representation of former Mayor Eric Adams in a sexual assault lawsuit, a move that, if approved by a judge, means Adams will have to hire his own attorney.
The city requested permission to pull its representation in a court filing Tuesday, arguing that Adams “was not acting within the scope of his City employment” at the time of the alleged assault, which the plaintiff said happened decades ago.
Adams was sued in 2024 by a woman who alleged that he sexually assaulted her in a car in 1993 when she sought his help with her career at the Transit Bureau of the New York Police Department.
She turned to Adams, who was a member of the Guardians Association, a fraternal order of Black members of the NYPD, “because he had held himself out to be an advocate for equality and fair treatment for Black employees,” she said in the lawsuit.
“Based on my review of new evidence since the original decision to represent him was made, I have determined that he is not entitled to representation by the City in this matter,” the city’s top lawyer, Steve Banks, said this week in a statement about Adams’ case.
The plaintiff’s legal team said the Adult Survivors Act, a state law that opened a one-year window for sexual violence survivors to file civil lawsuits against their abusers beyond the statute of limitations, prompted her to seek recourse for Adams’ alleged actions.
Adams has denied the allegations. When the lawsuit was first filed, he said, “I don’t recall ever meeting this person during my time in the police department.”
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Clarissa-Jan Lim is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW. She was previously a senior reporter and editor at BuzzFeed News.
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