(a) Notwithstanding the failure of the commission to comply with the time requirements of § 46a-83 or 46a-84, the jurisdiction of the commission or the Superior Court over any such complaint shall be retained.

Terms Used In Connecticut General Statutes 46a-82e

  • Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
  • Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
  • 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.

(b) The commission shall report annually to the judiciary committee of the General Assembly and the Governor: (1) The number of cases in the previous fiscal year that exceeded the time frame, including authorized extensions, set forth in subsection (g) of § 46a-83; (2) the reasons for the failure to comply with the time frame; (3) the number of actions brought pursuant to subsection (d) of this section and the results thereof; and (4) the commission’s recommendations for legislative action, if any, necessary for the commission to meet the statutory time frame.

(c) If a complaint has been pending for more than twenty-one months from the date of filing and the commission has not issued a finding of reasonable cause or no reasonable cause, the executive director shall notify the complainant as provided in § 46a-86a, that the complainant has the right to request a release of jurisdiction in accordance with § 46a-101. The executive director or the executive director’s designee shall investigate the cause for the delay in issuing a finding. After such investigation, the executive director may, given the facts and circumstances of the case, set a date for issuance of a finding.

(d) (1) If a complaint has been pending for more than two years after the date of filing pursuant to § 46a-82, and if the investigator fails to issue a finding of reasonable cause or no reasonable cause by the date ordered by the executive director pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, the complainant or respondent may petition the superior court for the judicial district of Hartford for an order requiring the commission to issue a finding by a specified date. The petitioner shall submit the petition on forms prescribed by the Office of the Chief Court Administrator.

(2) The clerk, upon receipt of the petition and if the clerk finds it to be in the proper form, shall fix a date for the hearing and sign the notice of hearing. The hearing date shall be no more than thirty days after the clerk signs the notice. Service shall be made on the commission and all persons named in the discriminatory practice complaint at least twenty days prior to the date of hearing by United States mail, certified or registered, postage prepaid, return receipt requested, without the use of a state marshal or other officer. Service on the commission shall be made on the executive director. Not later than five days after the date of service, the petitioner shall file with the court an affidavit stating the date and manner in which a copy of the petition was served and attach to the affidavit the return receipts indicating delivery of the petition.

(3) Not later than ten days after the date of receipt of the petition, any party, including the commission, may file an answer. The commission and all persons named in the discriminatory practice complaint shall have the right to appear and be heard at the hearing.

(4) If the commission and parties agree on a date, the court shall order the commission to issue a finding by such date. If the allegations of the petition are contested, the court shall hold a hearing and issue an appropriate order. Hearings held pursuant to this subdivision shall take precedence over other matters in the court, as provided in § 46a-96. The court shall award court costs and attorney’s fees to the petitioner, provided the petitioner is a “person”, as defined in § 4-184a, unless the commission shows good cause for not issuing the finding of reasonable cause or no reasonable cause by the date ordered by the executive director for the investigator to issue such finding. An award of court costs and attorney’s fees shall be subject to the court’s discretion, but shall not exceed a total of five hundred dollars.

(5) This subsection shall not apply to complaints initiated by the commission or to pattern or practice or systemic cases.

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