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Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities v. Savin Rock Condominium Association4/19/2005
The principal issue in this consolidated appeal is whether, despite its failure to comply with the time requirements for investigating and making a final disposition prescribed in General Statutes § 46a-64c (f), the named plaintiff, the commission on human rights and opportunities (commission), had subject matter jurisdiction to adjudicate complaints of housing discrimination. The trial court granted the motions of the defendants Savin Rock Condominium Association, Inc. (Savin Rock), and Group Concepts Management, Inc. (Group Concepts), to dismiss the complaints due to the commission's lack of jurisdiction and rendered judgment thereon. We conclude that the commission's failure to adhere to the time limitations imposed by § 46a-64c (f) does not serve as a jurisdictional bar and, accordingly, we reverse the judgment of the trial court.
The record discloses the following undisputed facts. On September 6, 2000, Patricia Wright-Khan filed two complaints with the commission, alleging that she had been discriminated against by Savin Rock and Group Concepts because of her race, color and disabilities in violation of § 46a-64c when she was denied equal services associated with her housing ownership. Specifically, Wright-Kahn alleged that Savin Rock and Group Concepts had failed to make certain repairs to her condominium unit and had performed other repairs inadequately, had failed to protect her from her neighbors' discriminatory harassment, and had failed to accommodate reasonably her disabilities. On September 4, 2001, she amended her complaints to assert claims on behalf of her minor son, Robert McCormack. The defendants moved to dismiss the complaints, asserting that the commission had divested itself of jurisdiction by failing to complete a timely investigation and disposition of the complaints pursuant to § 46a-64c (f). On March 28, 2002, the commission sent notice to the parties, pursuant to § 46a-64c (f), informing them that it was unable to complete its investigation within the statutory time frame. The defendants objected to the commission's late notice and filed a request for a hearing on their motions to dismiss. The commission did not hold a hearing, and it denied the motions by way of a letter dated April 2, 2002. The commission thereafter denied the defendants' motions for reconsideration. On September 27, 2002, following an investigation pursuant to General Statutes § 46a-83 (d), the commission issued a finding of reasonable cause.
On October 4, 2002, the defendants elected to proceed in a civil action in lieu of an administrative appeal, pursuant to § 46a-83 (d). See footnote 5 of this opinion. In response to the defendants' notice of election, the commission filed two civil complaints dated November 12, 2002, on behalf of Wright-Kahn, McCormack and commissioner Andrew M. Norton. See footnotes 2 and 4 of this opinion. On January 27, 2003, the defendants moved to dismiss the action, claiming that the trial court did not have subject matter jurisdiction because the commission had not conducted a timely investigation and had not issued a timely final administrative disposition as required under § 46a-64c (f). Additionally, the defendants claimed that the commission's failure to notify them of its intent to pursue the investigation until well after the statutory deadlines had lapsed deprived them of their rights to due process. The commission filed a memorandum of law in opposition to the motions to dismiss asserting that it had complied with § 46a-64c (f) by sending notice to the parties that the commission had found it impracticable to complete the investigation within the time periods set forth in the statute. Additionally, the commission contended that its failure to meet the time
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