Bill Text: CT HB05590 | 2014 | General Assembly | Comm Sub
Bill Title: An Act Establishing A Pilot Program For The Mediation Of Condominium-related Disputes.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-04-15 - File Number 553 [HB05590 Detail]
Download: Connecticut-2014-HB05590-Comm_Sub.html
General Assembly |
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February Session, 2014 |
*_____HB05590JUD___033114____* |
AN ACT ESTABLISHING A PILOT PROGRAM FOR THE MEDIATION OF CONDOMINIUM-RELATED DISPUTES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2014) (a) As used in this section:
(1) "Association" has the same meaning as provided in section 47-202 of the general statutes, and includes an "association of unit owners", as defined in section 47-68a of the general statutes;
(2) "Executive board" has the same meaning as provided in section 47-202 of the general statutes, and includes a "board of directors", as defined in section 47-68a of the general statutes;
(3) "Unit" has the same meaning as provided in section 47-202 of the general statutes, and includes a "unit", as defined in section 47-68a of the general statutes; and
(4) "Unit owner" has the same meaning as provided in section 47-202 of the general statutes, and includes a "unit owner", as defined in section 47-68a of the general statutes.
(b) The Chief Court Administrator of the Judicial Branch shall, within available appropriations, establish a pilot program for the mediation of disputes between two individual unit owners or a unit owner and the executive board of an association concerning the application and interpretation of (1) an association's bylaws, rules or regulations, (2) the declaration establishing the condominium or common interest community, or (3) the provisions of chapters 825 and 828 of the general statutes. Disputes related to a foreclosure action initiated against a unit owner shall not be eligible for the pilot program. The Chief Court Administrator shall establish the pilot program in the Hartford, New Haven and Stamford-Norwalk judicial districts.
(c) Any unit owner or executive board member acting on behalf of an association with a dispute described in subsection (b) of this section may file a request to participate in the pilot program. Such request shall be: (1) In writing, on such form as the Chief Court Administrator prescribes, which shall, at a minimum, set forth the names and addresses of any unit owner or executive board member acting on behalf of an association that may be a party to the dispute and a description of the specific nature of the dispute; (2) accompanied by a nonrefundable initiation fee of fifty dollars; and (3) filed at a court designated by the Chief Court Administrator to participate in the pilot program pursuant to subsection (b) of this section.
(d) Upon receipt of a request for participation in the pilot program, the court shall provide written notification of such request, by regular mail, to any unit owner or executive board member of an association identified in the request. Such written notification shall include any necessary forms that will need to be completed and returned by a unit owner or executive board member to the court in the event that such unit owner or executive board member elects to participate in mediation of the dispute. Any unit owner or executive board member receiving a request to participate in mediation of the dispute may elect to accept or decline such request. If the unit owner or executive board member elects to participate in mediation, such unit owner or executive board member shall, not later than sixty days following the date of the written notification from the court, return to the court any forms that need to be completed in order to participate in the mediation along with a filing fee of two hundred fifty dollars. The two-hundred-fifty-dollar filing fee shall be refunded only if the unit owner or executive board member who initiated the request for participation in the pilot program fails to pay his or her filing fee. The court shall thereafter provide written notification, by regular mail, to the unit owner or executive board member who initiated the request for participation in the pilot program that: (1) Such request has been accepted, and (2) the mediation will be scheduled by the court upon payment of a nonrefundable two-hundred-dollar filing fee by the unit owner or executive board member who initiated the request for participation in the pilot program.
(e) Not later than ninety days after receipt of all filing forms and fees, the court shall set the date, time and place for the mediation session. The court shall provide written notification of the mediation session, by regular mail, to any unit owner or executive board member identified in the request for mediation. The presiding judge of the civil session of the court in which the request for mediation has been filed shall select a special master to conduct the mediation session from the list of special masters compiled by the Office of the Chief Court Administrator pursuant to section 2 of this act. The special master shall receive no compensation for his or her services.
(f) The special master shall attempt to mediate a voluntary resolution of the dispute. Either party to the mediation may withdraw from mediation at any time during the process after providing notice to the other party and the special master. In addition, the special master may terminate the mediation upon finding that further efforts to mediate the dispute would be futile. If a resolution of the dispute is achieved, the special master shall assist the parties to the dispute in the preparation of a written agreement setting forth the specific terms of the agreement. The written agreement shall be signed by the parties to the mediation and the special master.
(g) No participant in the mediation shall voluntarily disclose or, through discovery or compulsory process, be required to disclose any oral or written communication received or obtained during the course of the mediation, unless (1) each of the other participants agree in writing to such disclosure, (2) the disclosure is necessary to enforce a written agreement that resulted from the mediation, (3) the disclosure is required by statute or regulation, or by any court, after notice is provided to all participants in the mediation, or (4) the disclosure is required as a result of circumstances in which a court finds that the interest of justice outweighs the need for confidentiality, consistent with the principles of law.
(h) The remedies provided under this section are not exclusive and are in addition to any other remedies in any section of the general statutes or which are available under common law.
(i) The presiding judge of the civil session of a court that has been selected to participate in the pilot program shall maintain statistical data, on an annual basis, concerning the administration of the pilot program. Such data shall include, but not be limited to, the number of requests received: (1) To participate in the pilot program, (2) that resulted in a mediation session being held, and (3) that resulted in resolution of the dispute.
(j) Not later than January 15, 2017, the Chief Court Administrator shall report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to the judiciary on the pilot program data compiled pursuant to subsection (i) of this section.
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) On or before September 30, 2014, the Chief Court Administrator shall prescribe the qualifications that an attorney must possess in order to serve as special master for the pilot program established under section 1 of this act. The qualifications prescribed by the Chief Court Administrator shall, at a minimum, require that such attorney: (1) Be a member of the bar of this state, (2) has engaged in the practice of law for not less than ten years, and (3) has engaged in the practice of community association law for not less than seven years.
(b) Upon the establishment of special master qualifications by the Chief Court Administrator under subsection (a) of this section, the Office of the Chief Court Administrator shall develop an application process for any attorney who seeks to serve as special master for the pilot program established under section 1 of this act. The Office of the Chief Court Administrator shall maintain a list of those attorneys who are qualified to serve as a special master for the pilot program and make such list available to each presiding judge of the civil session of a court designated to participate in the pilot program.
Sec. 3. Section 47-216 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2014):
(a) Except as provided in section 47-217, sections 47-202, 47-204, 47-205, 47-206, 47-218, 47-221, 47-222, 47-223, subsections (b), (d), (i) and (j) of section 47-236, sections 47-237, 47-240 and 47-244, subsection (f) of section 47-245, and sections 47-250, 47-251, 47-252, 47-253, 47-255, 47-257, 47-258, 47-260, 47-261b, 47-261c, 47-261d, 47-261e, 47-270, [and] 47-278, 1 and 2 of this act, to the extent necessary in construing any of those sections, apply to all common interest communities created in this state before January 1, 1984; but those sections apply only with respect to events and circumstances occurring after January 1, 1984, and do not invalidate existing provisions of the declaration, bylaws or surveys or plans of those common interest communities.
(b) Section 47-210 and subsections (b) to (d), inclusive, of section 47-225 apply to all common interest communities created in this state prior to January 1, 1984, but shall not invalidate existing provisions of the declarations, bylaws or surveys or plans of those common interest communities.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections: | ||
Section 1 |
October 1, 2014 |
New section |
Sec. 2 |
from passage |
New section |
Sec. 3 |
October 1, 2014 |
47-216 |
Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
In section 1, subsections (b) to (f), inclusive, and subsection (i) were redrafted for clarity and conciseness.
JUD |
Joint Favorable Subst. |