(a) The Attorney General may investigate, intervene in or bring a civil or administrative action in the name of the state, seeking injunctive or declaratory relief, damages, and any other relief that may be available under law, whenever any person is or has engaged in a practice or pattern of conduct that:

Terms Used In Connecticut General Statutes 3-129g

  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Indemnification: In general, a collateral contract or assurance under which one person agrees to secure another person against either anticipated financial losses or potential adverse legal consequences. Source: FDIC
  • Interrogatories: Written questions asked by one party of an opposing party, who must answer them in writing under oath; a discovery device in a lawsuit.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Statute of limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.

(1) Subjects, or causes to be subjected, other persons to the deprivation of any rights, privileges or immunities secured by the constitutions or laws of this state or the United States; or

(2) Interferes, or attempts to interfere, by threats, intimidation or coercion, with the exercise or enjoyment by other persons of any rights, privileges or immunities secured by the constitutions or laws of this state or the United States.

(b) In conducting any investigation under this section, the Attorney General may issue subpoenas and interrogatories, and otherwise gather information, in the same manner and to the same extent as is provided in § 35-42. No information obtained pursuant to the provisions of this subsection may be used in a criminal proceeding.

(c) If the Attorney General prevails in a civil action brought pursuant to this section, the court shall order the distribution of any award of damages to the injured person. In a matter involving the interference or attempted interference with any right protected by the constitutions of this state or the United States, the court may also award civil penalties against each defendant in an amount not exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars for each violation, provided such violation has been established by clear and convincing evidence. Any civil penalty that is received pursuant to this subsection shall be deposited in the General Fund.

(d) In lieu of bringing a civil action under this section, the Attorney General may accept an assurance of the discontinuance of any allegedly unlawful or unconstitutional practice from any person engaged in such practice. Thereafter, any evidence of a violation of such assurance shall constitute prima facie proof of violation of the applicable law or right in any action commenced by the Attorney General.

(e) Nothing in this section shall limit the right of a person adversely affected by a violation of chapter 814c to file a complaint with the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities.

(f) Nothing in this section shall limit the jurisdiction of the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities under chapter 814c.

(g) The Attorney General shall not bring an action under the provisions of this section during the pendency of a matter involving the same parties and the same alleged facts and circumstances before the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities.

(h) Nothing in this section shall permit the Attorney General to bring an action that would otherwise be barred under the applicable statute of limitations or repose.

(i) The Attorney General shall post on the Attorney General’s Internet web site information on how to properly file a complaint with the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities. The Attorney General may, as appropriate, refer cases to the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities.

(j) Nothing in this section shall permit the Attorney General to assert any claim against a state agency or a state officer or state employee in such officer’s or employee’s official capacity, regarding actions or omissions of such state agency, state officer or state employee. If the Attorney General determines that a state officer or state employee is not entitled to indemnification under § 5-141d, the Attorney General may, as relates to such officer or employee, take any action authorized under this section.

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