Sec. 46a-89. (Formerly Sec. 31-127a). Petition for temporary injunctive relief re discriminatory employment practices. Petition for injunctive relief, punitive damages or civil penalty re discriminato
Sec. 46a-89. (Formerly Sec. 31-127a). Petition for temporary injunctive relief
re discriminatory employment practices. Petition for injunctive relief, punitive
damages or civil penalty re discriminatory housing or public accommodations
practices. (a)(1) Whenever a complaint is filed with or by the commission pursuant to
section 46a-82 alleging a violation of section 46a-60 or 46a-81c, and a commissioner
believes, upon review and the recommendation of the investigator assigned, that equitable relief is required to prevent irreparable harm to the complainant, the commissioner
may bring a petition in equity in the superior court for the judicial district in which the
discriminatory practice which is the subject of the complaint occurred or the judicial
district in which the respondent resides, provided this subdivision shall not apply to
complaints against employers with less than fifty employees.
(2) The petition shall seek appropriate temporary injunctive relief against the respondent pending final disposition of the complaint pursuant to the procedures set forth
in this chapter. The injunctive relief may include an order temporarily restraining the
respondent from doing any act that would render ineffectual any order a presiding officer
may render with respect to the complaint.
(3) Upon service on the respondent of notice pursuant to section 46a-89a, the respondent shall be temporarily restrained from taking any action that would render ineffectual the temporary injunctive relief prayed for in the petition, provided nothing in
this section shall be construed to prevent the respondent from having any employment
duties, enjoined under this section and section 46a-89a, from being carried out by another
employee and the notice shall so provide.
(b) (1) Whenever a complaint filed pursuant to section 46a-82 alleges a violation
of section 46a-64, 46a-64c, 46a-81d or 46a-81e, and a commissioner believes that injunctive relief is required or that the imposition of punitive damages or a civil penalty
would be appropriate, the commission may bring a petition in the superior court for the
judicial district in which the discriminatory practice which is the subject of the complaint
occurred or the judicial district in which the respondent resides.
(2) The petition shall seek: (A) Appropriate injunctive relief, including temporary
or permanent orders or decrees restraining and enjoining the respondent from selling
or renting to anyone other than the complainant or otherwise making unavailable to the
complainant any dwelling or commercial property with respect to which the complaint
is made, pending the final determination of such complaint by the commission or such
petition by the court; (B) an award of damages based on the remedies available under
subsection (c) of section 46a-86; (C) an award of punitive damages payable to the complainant, not to exceed fifty thousand dollars; (D) a civil penalty payable to the state
against the respondent to vindicate the public interest: (i) In an amount not exceeding
ten thousand dollars if the respondent has not been adjudged to have committed any prior
discriminatory housing practice; (ii) in an amount not exceeding twenty-five thousand
dollars if the respondent has been adjudged to have committed one other discriminatory
housing practice during the five-year period prior to the date of the filing of this complaint; and (iii) in an amount not exceeding fifty thousand dollars if the respondent has
been adjudged to have committed two or more discriminatory housing practices during
the seven-year period prior to the date of the filing of the complaint; except that if the
acts constituting the discriminatory housing practice that is the object of the complaint
are committed by the same natural person who has been previously adjudged to have
committed acts constituting a discriminatory housing practice, then the civil penalties
set forth in clauses (ii) and (iii) of this subparagraph may be imposed without regard to the
period of time within which any subsequent discriminatory housing practice occurred; or
(E) two or more of such remedies.
(3) Upon service on the respondent of notice pursuant to section 46a-89a, the respondent shall be temporarily restrained from selling or renting the dwelling or commercial property which is the subject of the complaint to anyone other than the complainant,
or from otherwise making such dwelling or commercial property unavailable to the
complainant, until the court or judge has decided the petition for temporary injunctive
relief and the notice shall so provide.
(P.A. 77-531; P.A. 80-422, S. 37; P.A. 88-241, S. 3; 88-317, S. 103, 107; P.A. 90-246, S. 12; P.A. 91-58, S. 31; P.A.
05-201, S. 4.)
History: P.A. 80-422 created new Subsecs. (b) to (d) from parts of Subsec. (a), changing wording slightly, and deleted
provision formerly in Subsec. (a) which gave hearings precedence over other matters and former Subsecs. (b) and (c) re
hearing procedure and court action upon finding that respondent has engaged in unfair employment practice; Sec. 31-127a
transferred to Sec. 46a-89 in 1981 and internal section references changed as necessary to reflect their transfer; P.A. 88-241 deleted Subsec. (c) re the authority of a court or judge to grant a temporary injunction, redesignated Subsec. (b) as
Subsec. (a)(2), redesignated Subsec. (c) as Subsec. (a)(1) and rephrased subdivision, added Subsec. (b) re the filing of a
petition for a temporary injunction against a discriminatory practice in the sale or rental of residential or commercial
property, the relief sought in such petition and the temporary restraint on the respondent from selling or renting the housing
accommodations or commercial property, which provisions were derived from former Sec. 46a-91(a) and (b) and 46a-92(c), and added Subsec. (c) requiring the commission to incorporate in and make a part of its petition its complaint and
prayers for relief, which provision was formerly Sec. 46a-91(c); P.A. 88-317 substituted "presiding officer" for "hearing
officer", effective July 1, 1989, and applicable to all agency proceedings commencing on or after that date; P.A. 90-246
amended Subsec. (b) by adding reference to Sec. 46a-64c, changing "housing accommodations" to "dwelling" and added
provisions re punitive damages and civil penalty (Revisor's note: An erroneous reference in Subdiv. (2) to section "46a-86c" was changed editorially by the Revisors to "subsection (c) of section 46a-86"); P.A. 91-58 amended Subsec. (a)(1)
to add reference to a violation of Sec. 46a-81c and amended Subsec. (b)(1) to add reference to a violation of Sec. 46a-81d
or 46a-81e; P.A. 05-201 made technical changes in Subsec. (a), amended Subsec. (b)(1) by deleting provisions re sale or
rental of dwelling or commercial property and review and recommendation of assigned investigator, (b)(2) by adding
provision re temporary or permanent orders and replacing provision re determination of proceedings on complaint with
provision re determination of complaint by commission or petition by the court, (b)(3) by adding provision re otherwise
making dwelling or commercial property unavailable to complainant, making technical changes throughout subsec., and
deleted Subsec. (c) re petition in equity, effective July 6, 2005.
See Sec. 51-164s re Superior Court's status as sole court of original jurisdiction.
Cited. 196 C. 208.