Nebraska Statutes 20-343. Attorney General; civil action; powers and duties; relief authorized; intervention; when permitted
(1) Whenever the Attorney General has reasonable cause to believe that any person or group of persons is engaged in a pattern or practice of resistance to the full enjoyment of any of the rights granted by the Nebraska Fair Housing Act or that any group of persons has been denied any of the rights granted by the act and such denial raises an issue of general public importance, the Attorney General may commence a civil action in any appropriate district court.
Terms Used In Nebraska Statutes 20-343
- Action: shall include any proceeding in any court of this state. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
- Aggrieved person: shall include any person who:
(1) Claims to have been injured by a discriminatory housing practice. See Nebraska Statutes 20-304
- Attorney: shall mean attorney at law. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
- Commission: shall mean the Equal Opportunity Commission. See Nebraska Statutes 20-305
- Conciliation: shall mean the attempted resolution of issues raised by a complaint or by the investigation of a complaint through informal negotiations involving the aggrieved person, the respondent, and the commission. See Nebraska Statutes 20-307
- Conciliation agreement: shall mean a written agreement setting forth the resolution of the issues in conciliation. See Nebraska Statutes 20-308
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Discriminatory housing practice: shall mean an act that is unlawful under section Nebraska Statutes 20-309
- Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
- Person: shall include one or more individuals, corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies, associations, labor organizations, legal representatives, mutual companies, joint-stock companies, trusts, unincorporated organizations, trustees, trustees in bankruptcy, receivers, and fiduciaries. See Nebraska Statutes 20-314
- Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
- State: when applied to different states of the United States shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories organized by Congress. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
- Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
(2)(a) The Attorney General may commence a civil action in any appropriate district court for appropriate relief with respect to a discriminatory housing practice referred to the Attorney General by the commission under section 20-337. The action may be commenced not later than the expiration of eighteen months after the date of the occurrence or the termination of the alleged discriminatory housing practice.
(b) The Attorney General may commence a civil action in any appropriate district court for appropriate relief with respect to breach of a conciliation agreement referred to the Attorney General by the commission under section 20-329. The action may be commenced not later than the expiration of ninety days after the referral of the alleged breach under such section.
(3) The Attorney General, on behalf of the commission or other party at whose request a subpoena is issued under section 20-334, may enforce the subpoena in appropriate proceedings in the district court for the county in which the person to whom the subpoena was addressed resides, was served, or transacts business.
(4)(a) In a civil action under subsection (1) or (2) of this section, the court:
(i) May award such temporary relief, including a permanent or temporary injunction, a restraining order, or any other order against the person responsible for a violation of the act as is necessary to assure the full enjoyment of the rights granted by the act;
(ii) May award such other relief as the court deems appropriate, including monetary damages to persons aggrieved; and
(iii) May, to vindicate the public interest, assess a civil penalty against the respondent:
(A) In an amount not exceeding fifty thousand dollars for a first violation; and
(B) In an amount not exceeding one hundred thousand dollars for any subsequent violation.
(b) In a civil action under this section, the court may allow the prevailing party, other than the state, reasonable attorney’s fees and costs. The state shall be liable for such fees and costs to the same extent as a private person.
(5) Upon timely application, any person may intervene in a civil action commenced by the Attorney General under subsection (1) or (2) of this section which involves an alleged discriminatory housing practice with respect to which such person is an aggrieved person or a conciliation agreement to which such person is a party. The court may grant such appropriate relief to any such intervening party as is authorized to be granted to a plaintiff in a civil action under section 20-342.