Civil enforcement hearing procedure.
Saint Paul Legislative Code § 183.24
in effectSec. 183.24. - Civil enforcement hearing procedure.
Except as otherwise provided for violation of section 183.04, civil enforcement procedures shall be prosecuted by the director before the commission in the following manner:
(1) The director shall serve upon the complainant and respondent by certified mail a complaint, signed by the director, which shall set forth a clear and concise statement of the facts constituting the violation, set a time and place for hearing, and advise the respondent of the right to file an answer, to appear in person or by an attorney, and to examine and cross-examine witnesses.
(a) For cases involving an alleged violation of section 183.06, the complaint shall be based on the final investigative report and need not be limited to the facts or grounds alleged in the charge of discrimination.
(2) The hearing shall not be less than twenty (20) days after service of the complaint. At any time prior to the hearing, the respondent may file an answer. Facts not denied by answer shall be deemed admitted. If the answer sets out new matter, it shall be deemed denied by the director. The respondent's failure to file an answer shall be deemed to constitute an admission of the allegations contained in the complaint. Testimony may be heard on behalf of the complainant following a respondent's failure to file an answer.
(3) The complaint or answer may be amended at any time prior to the hearing with notification to the opposing party and granting the opposing party a reasonable opportunity to respond.
(4) Hearings shall be before a panel of three (3) commissioners, designated by the chair, presided over by an attorney who is not a member of the commission as chair and law officer. All members of a panel shall be paid ten dollars ($10.00) per hour spent in performance of their duties; provided, however, that the payments hereunder shall not exceed for any person one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500.00) per year. The law officer shall rule on all legal questions presented but shall not participate in the panel's deliberations. The parties shall not be bound by the Minnesota Rules of Evidence and the law officer may admit evidence which possesses probative value commonly accepted by reasonable prudent persons in the conduct of their affairs. In cases involving an alleged violation of section 183.06, the Minnesota Rules of Evidence shall apply. The law officer shall give effect to the rules of privilege recognized by law and may exclude incompetent, irrelevant, immaterial and repetitive evidence.
(5) The director may obtain subpoenas from the district court to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of documents at any hearing. Any party to an administrative hearing can request subpoenas from the other parties.
(6) If, after hearing, the panel shall conclude that a violation has occurred, it shall prepare an order which may require the respondent to pay a complainant, who has suffered discrimination, compensatory damages in an amount up to three (3) times the actual damages sustained. The panel may also order the respondent to pay a complainant who has suffered discrimination, damages for mental anguish or suffering, in addition to punitive damages in conformance with Minnesota laws.
The order may include provisions which require the respondent to rent, sell or lease particular real property to the complainant, place or reinstate him or her in a particular job with or without back pay, file periodic compliance reports, or to do any other thing as may be just. If a lessor, after engaging in a discriminatory practice defined in Section 183.06, leases or rents a dwelling unit to a person who has no knowledge of the practice or of the existence of a charge with respect to the practice, the lessor shall be liable for actual damages sustained by a person by reason of a final order requiring the person to be evicted from the dwelling unit. The panel's order may also require the respondent to pay for investigation and enforcement costs and reasonable city attorney's fees.
(7) The commission shall adopt policies which may provide sanctions for intentional and/or frivolous delay caused by a complainant or respondent in an investigation, hearing or any other aspect of proceedings before the department under this chapter.
(8) The commission's panel shall make its findings of fact and conclusions of law within sixty (60) days of the hearing. If the commission is unable to make its findings of fact and conclusions of law within sixty (60) days, it shall notify the city, respondent, complainant, and/or aggrieved party in writing of the reasons for not doing so. The panel's decision shall be served on the complainant and respondent and each member of the commission by mail and shall become the findings and order of the commission and the department unless within thirty (30) days after mailing of the findings and order, the commission shall revoke or amend the order and/or findings. Whether or not the commission revokes or amends the findings and order of the panel; the complainant, respondent, and/or aggrieved party shall be served by mail with the final order of the commission after the expiration of the thirty (30) days from the service of the panel's decision.
(9) Any indigent respondent subject to a complaint filed by the director who appears at a hearing or hearings thereon before the commission or a panel thereof shall be entitled to have reasonable attorneys' fees, not to exceed three hundred fifty dollars ($350.00), arising out of preparation for or appearance at such commission or panel hearing or hearings, paid from the funds of the department at the conclusion of proceedings in the case.
(10) When the director determines that violation of Section 183.04 has occurred, the director shall serve on the respondent by certified mail, in addition to those notices required by subsection (1) of this section, a copy of the director's proposed findings and application for an order enforcing such findings. The director's proposed findings and proposed order shall also be served upon each member of the commission. The commission, at a public hearing held for this purpose, shall review the director's proposed order and may modify it in any manner as may be just. For purposes of obtaining judicial review by any respondent aggrieved hereunder, administrative remedies shall be deemed exhausted and the order of the commission shall be deemed final upon issuance.
(11) In the case of a respondent which is subject to the licensing or regulatory power of the city or agency thereof, if the panel determines that the respondent has engaged in a discriminatory practice, and if the respondent does not cease to engage in such discriminatory practice, the director may so certify to the licensing or regulatory agency. Unless such determination of discriminatory practice is reversed in the course of judicial review, a final determination is binding on the licensing or regulatory agency. Such agency may take appropriate administrative action, including suspension or revocation of the respondent's license or certificate of public convenience and necessity, if such agency is otherwise authorized to take such action.
(12) For cases involving an alleged violation of section 183.06, any aggrieved person may intervene in the administrative proceeding as a matter of right.
(Ord. No. 17585, § 27, 8-30-88; Ord. No. 17930, § 21, 6-11-92; C.F. No. 93-1177, § 12, 9-9-93; Ord. No. 11-105, § 1, 1-11-2012)
Source: City of Saint Paul, Minnesota, City Charter, Legislative Code and Administrative Code (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/mn/st._paul/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIILECO_TITXVIIIHURI_CH183HURI_S183.24CIENHEPRFetched: 11/1/2026