Civil Litigation and Public Officials

New York City has asked a judge for permission to stop having its Law Department defend former Mayor Eric Adams in a civil sexual assault lawsuit, saying he "was not acting within the scope of his City employment" at the time of the alleged attack in 1993. The suit, filed in 2024 under New York’s Adult Survivors Act by a woman who says Adams sexually assaulted her in a car when she approached him for career help at the NYPD Transit Bureau, had initially been defended by city attorneys. Corporation Counsel Steve Banks said that, based on "new evidence" reviewed since the original decision, he has concluded Adams is not entitled to city-funded representation and must secure his own lawyer if the judge grants the motion. Adams has denied the allegation and previously said he does not recall meeting the plaintiff, while the current mayor’s office says Mayor Zohran Mamdani was not involved in Banks’ decision. The move raises questions about how and when cities decide to cover legal costs for current and former officials in historic misconduct claims, an issue already drawing sharp public scrutiny in other jurisdictions when taxpayers end up footing the bill for personal behavior.