Sec. 20-417i. New Home Construction Guaranty Fund.
Sec. 20-417i. New Home Construction Guaranty Fund. (a) The commissioner
shall establish and maintain the New Home Construction Guaranty Fund.
(b) Each person who receives a certificate pursuant to sections 20-417a to 20-417j,
inclusive, shall pay a fee of four hundred eighty dollars biennially to the fund. Such fee
shall be payable with the fee for an application for a certificate or renewal of a certificate.
(c) (1) For fiscal years commencing on or after July 1, 2003, payments received
under subsection (b) of this section shall be credited to the New Home Construction
Guaranty Fund until the balance in the fund equals seven hundred fifty thousand dollars.
Annually, if the balance in the fund exceeds seven hundred fifty thousand dollars, the
first three hundred thousand dollars of the excess shall be deposited in the consumer
protection enforcement account established in section 21a-8a. On June 1, 2004, and
each June first thereafter, if the balance in the fund exceeds seven hundred fifty thousand
dollars, the excess shall be deposited in the General Fund.
(2) Any money in the New Home Construction Guaranty Fund may be invested or
reinvested in the same manner as funds of the state employees retirement system and
the interest arising from such investments shall be credited to the fund.
(d) Beginning October 1, 2000, whenever a consumer obtains a court judgment
against any new home construction contractor holding a certificate or who has held a
certificate under sections 20-417a to 20-417j, inclusive, within the past two years of the
date of entering into the contract with the consumer, for loss or damages sustained by
reason of any violation of the provisions of sections 20-417a to 20-417j, inclusive, by
a person holding a certificate under said sections, such consumer may, upon the final
determination of, or expiration of time for taking, an appeal in connection with any such
judgment, apply to the commissioner for an order directing payment out of the New
Home Construction Guaranty Fund of the amount not exceeding thirty thousand dollars
unpaid upon the judgment for actual damages and costs taxed by the court against such
contractor, exclusive of punitive damages. The application shall be made on forms provided by the commissioner and shall be accompanied by a certified copy of the court
judgment obtained against the new home construction contractor together with a notarized affidavit, signed and sworn to by the consumer, affirming that the consumer has:
(1) Complied with all the requirements of this subsection; (2) obtained a judgment,
stating the amount of the judgment and the amount owing on the judgment at the date
of application; and (3) made a good faith effort to satisfy any such judgment in accordance with the provisions of chapter 906 which effort may include causing to be issued
a writ of execution upon such judgment, but the officer executing the same has made a
return showing that no bank accounts or real property of such contractor liable to be
levied upon in satisfaction of the judgment could be found, or that the amount realized
on the sale of them or of such of them as were found, under the execution, was insufficient
to satisfy the actual damage portion of the judgment or stating the amount realized and
the balance remaining due on the judgment after application on the judgment of the
amount realized, except that the requirements of this subdivision shall not apply to a
judgment obtained by the consumer in small claims court. A true and attested copy of
such executing officer's return, when required, shall be attached to such application and
affidavit. Whenever the consumer satisfies the commissioner or the commissioner's
designee that it is not practicable to comply with the requirements of subdivision (3) of
this subsection and that the consumer has taken all reasonable steps to collect the amount
of the judgment or the unsatisfied part of the judgment and has been unable to collect
the same, the commissioner or the commissioner's designee may, in the commissioner's
discretion, dispense with the necessity for complying with such requirement. No application for an order directing payment out of the fund shall be made later than two years
from the final determination of, or expiration of time for taking, an appeal of such court
judgment, and no such application shall be for an amount in excess of thirty thousand
dollars.
(e) Upon receipt of such application together with such certified copy of the court
judgment, notarized affidavit and, except as otherwise provided in subsection (d) of this
section, true and attested copy of the executing officer's return, the commissioner or
the commissioner's designee shall inspect such documents for their veracity and upon
a determination that such documents are complete and authentic and that the consumer
has not been paid, the commissioner shall order payment out of the New Home Construction Guaranty Fund of the amount not exceeding thirty thousand dollars unpaid upon
the judgment for actual damages and costs taxed by the court against the contractor,
exclusive of punitive damages.
(f) Beginning October 1, 2000, whenever a consumer is awarded an order of restitution against any new home construction contractor for loss or damages sustained as a
result of any violation of the provisions of sections 20-417a to 20-417j, inclusive, by a
person holding a certificate or who has held a certificate under said sections within the
past two years of the date of entering into the contract with the consumer, in (1) a
proceeding brought by the commissioner pursuant to subsection (h) of this section or
subsection (d) of section 42-110d, (2) a proceeding brought by the Attorney General
pursuant to subsection (a) of section 42-110m or subsection (d) of section 42-110d, or
(3) a criminal proceeding pursuant to section 20-417e, such consumer may, upon the
final determination of, or expiration of time for taking, an appeal in connection with
any such order of restitution, apply to the commissioner for an order directing payment
out of the New Home Construction Guaranty Fund of the amount not exceeding thirty
thousand dollars unpaid upon the order of restitution. The commissioner may issue such
order upon a determination that the consumer has not been paid.
(g) Before the commissioner may issue any order directing payment out of the New
Home Construction Guaranty Fund to a consumer pursuant to subsection (e) or (f) of
this section, the commissioner shall first notify the new home construction contractor
of the consumer's application for an order directing payment out of the fund and of the
new home construction contractor's right to a hearing to contest the disbursement in
the event that such contractor has already paid the consumer. Such notice shall be given
to the new home construction contractor not later than fifteen days from the receipt by
the commissioner of the consumer's application for an order directing payment out of
the fund. If the new home construction contractor requests a hearing, in writing, by
certified mail not later than fifteen days from receipt of the notice from the commissioner,
the commissioner shall grant such request and shall conduct a hearing in accordance
with the provisions of chapter 54. If the commissioner does not receive a written request
for a hearing by certified mail from the new home construction contractor on or before
the fifteenth day from the contractor's receipt of such notice, the commissioner shall
conclude that the consumer has not been paid, and the commissioner shall issue an order
directing payment out of the fund for the amount not exceeding thirty thousand dollars
unpaid upon the judgment for actual damages and costs taxed by the court against the
new home construction contractor, exclusive of punitive damages, or for the amount
not exceeding thirty thousand dollars unpaid upon the order of restitution.
(h) The commissioner or the commissioner's designee may proceed against any
new home construction contractor holding a certificate or who has held a certificate
under sections 20-417a to 20-417j, inclusive, within the past two years of the effective
date of entering into the contract with the consumer, for an order of restitution arising
from loss or damages sustained by any consumer as a result of any violation of the
provisions of said sections 20-417a to 20-417j, inclusive. Any such proceeding shall be
held in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54. In the course of such proceeding,
the commissioner or the commissioner's designee shall decide whether to (1) exercise
the powers specified in section 20-417c, (2) order restitution arising from loss or damages sustained by any consumer as a result of any violation of the provisions of sections
20-417a to 20-417j, inclusive, and (3) order payment out of the New Home Construction
Guaranty Fund. Notwithstanding the provisions of chapter 54, the decision of the commissioner or the commissioner's designee shall be final with respect to any proceeding
to order payment out of the fund and the commissioner and the commissioner's designee
are exempted from the requirements of chapter 54 as such requirements relate to an
appeal from any such decision. The commissioner or the commissioner's designee may
hear complaints of all consumers submitting claims against a single new home construction contractor in one proceeding.
(i) No application for an order directing payment out of the New Home Construction
Guaranty Fund shall be made later than two years from the final determination of, or
expiration of time for, an appeal in connection with any judgment or order of restitution,
and no such application shall be for an amount in excess of thirty thousand dollars.
(j) In order to preserve the integrity of the New Home Construction Guaranty Fund,
the commissioner, in the commissioner's sole discretion, may order payment out of the
fund of an amount less than the actual loss or damages incurred by the consumer or less
than the order of restitution awarded by the commissioner or the Superior Court. In no
event shall any payment out of the fund be in excess of thirty thousand dollars for any
single claim by a consumer.
(k) If the money deposited in the New Home Construction Guaranty Fund is insufficient to satisfy any duly authorized claim or portion of a claim, the commissioner shall,
when sufficient money has been deposited in the fund, satisfy such unpaid claims or
portions of claims not exceeding thirty thousand dollars, in the order that such claims
or portions of claims were originally determined.
(l) Whenever the commissioner has caused any sum to be paid from the New Home
Construction Guaranty Fund to a consumer, the commissioner shall be subrogated to
all of the rights of the consumer up to the amount paid plus reasonable interest, and
prior to receipt of any payment from the fund, the consumer shall assign all of the
consumer's right, title and interest in the claim up to such amount to the commissioner,
and any amount and interest recovered by the commissioner on the claim shall be deposited to the fund.
(m) If the commissioner orders the payment of any amount as a result of a claim
against a new home construction contractor, the commissioner shall determine if such
contractor is possessed of assets liable to be sold or applied in satisfaction of the claim
on the New Home Construction Guaranty Fund. If the commissioner discovers any
such assets, the commissioner may request that the Attorney General take any action
necessary for the reimbursement of the fund.
(n) If the commissioner orders the payment of an amount as a result of a claim
against a new home construction contractor, the commissioner may, after notice and
hearing in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, revoke the certificate of such
contractor and such contractor shall not be eligible to receive a new or renewed certificate
until such contractor has repaid such amount in full, plus interest from the time such
payment is made from the New Home Construction Guaranty Fund, at a rate to be in
accordance with section 37-3b, except that the commissioner may, in the commissioner's sole discretion, permit a new home construction contractor to receive a new or
renewed certificate after such contractor has entered into an agreement with the commissioner whereby such contractor agrees to repay the fund in full in the form of periodic
payments over a set period of time. Any such agreement shall include a provision providing for the summary suspension of any and all certificates held by the new home construction contractor if payment is not made in accordance with the terms of the
agreement.
(P.A. 99-246, S. 9; May 9 Sp. Sess. P.A. 02-1, S. 126; P.A. 06-73, S. 11.)
History: May 9 Sp. Sess. P.A. 02-1 divided Subsec. (c) into subdivisions, adding Subdivs. (2) and (3) re payments
received in the fiscal years commencing July 1, 2002, July 1, 2003, and thereafter, effective July 1, 2002; P.A. 06-73
replaced references to "sections 20-417a to 20-417i, inclusive, and subsection (b) of section 20-421" with "sections 20-417a to 20-417j, inclusive," where appearing, amended Subsec. (c) to delete former Subdivs. (1) and (2) re disposition of
payments received for fiscal years commencing prior to July 1, 2002, and for the fiscal year commencing July 1, 2002,
respectively, and redesignate existing Subdivs. (3) and (4) as Subdivs. (1) and (2), respectively, amended Subsec. (d) to
rephrase language, amended Subsec. (e) to reposition language re exception under Subsec. (d), amended Subsec. (f) to
insert Subdiv. designators and replace reference to Sec. 20-417d with Sec. 20-417e in Subdiv. (3), amended Subsec. (h)
to insert Subdiv. designators and replace reference to Sec. 20-417b with Sec. 20-417c in Subdiv. (1), amended Subsec. (i)
to rephrase language and made technical changes throughout section, effective May 30, 2006.