A SECOND CHANCE AT JUSTICE
FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT SURVIVORS
California Bill AB250 Gives Sexual Assault Survivors a Second Chance to Seek Justice
On October 13, 2025, California passed the Justice for Sexual Assault Survivors Act (AB250) that gives sexual assault survivors a second chance to pursue legal claims. In 2022, the California legislature passed the Sexual Abuse and Cover-Up Accountability Act (AB 2777), which opened a one-year window allowing sexual assault survivors to seek justice–regardless of whether their claims had previously been prevented by a statute of limitations.
Unfortunately, the law was confusing, and it provided loopholes that defendants used to escape legal claims. “When they passed AB 2777, it was retroactive without limitation and we expected the floodgates to open, in a way, because, unfortunately, sexual abuse is so prevalent, especially in the music and entertainment industries,” attorney Karen Barth Menzies tells Rolling Stone. “While the legislative history and intent seem clear, the language of AB 2777 wasn’t, which has caused confusion and contentious fights in court.”
In litigation, Karen found ways to overcome many of the challenges of AB 2777, but Karen believed the confusion and uneven application of the law discouraged many women from coming forward. Fortunately, a new bill has cleared the California legislature (Bill AB250), and it closes some of the loopholes created by AB 2777—and it will give survivors an additional two years to file claims.
Attorney Karen Barth Menzies has resolved several high-profile sexual assault cases filed under AB 2777, and now, as a partner at Justice Law Collaborative, Karen plans to dedicate the next chapter of her career to helping survivors pursue justice under the new California law.
“‘It’s huge,’ says Karen Barth Menzies, a partner at the Justice Law Collaborative law firm who’s helped plaintiffs use California revival statutes to sue celebrity defendants including Backstreet Boys singer Nick Carter and Mexican superstar Gloria Trevi. She said AB2777 ‘confused’ a lot of plaintiffs and lawyers alike, leaving many unwilling to take on the high cost and risk of litigation, especially against wealthy opponents.”
–Rolling Stone Magazine, October 11, 2025
Karen Barth Menzies in the Media:
When a case involves high-profiles personalities or deals with issues in the public interest, Atorney Karen Barth Menzies is not afraid to speak respectuflly to the press in a way that preserves the dignity of the legal process. Karen has been speaking out about important gender justice issues for more than twenty years.
