(a) A hearing panel appointed under Section
10B-12 must hold a hearing on each dispute that is not resolved by mediation under Section
10B-11 unless the Commission finds that:
(1) the dispute is essentially identical to another dispute between the same parties on which a hearing has already been held under this Section; or
(2) the dispute is clearly not within the jurisdiction of the Commission.
(b) Sections
2A-1 through
2A-11 apply to a hearing held under this Section. However, the parties need not be given more than 15 days' notice before the hearing is held, if the Commission finds that an expedited hearing is necessary. At any hearing, a party or a witness may be advised by counsel.
(c) If any party, after proper notice, does not appear at the scheduled hearing, the hearing panel may order any relief to another party that the facts on record warrant.
(d) The hearing panel may award costs, including reasonable attorney's fees, to any party if the other party:
(1) filed or maintained a frivolous dispute, or filed or maintained a dispute in bad faith;
(2)refused to participate in mediation of a dispute; or
(3) substantially delayed or hindered the dispute resolution process without good cause.
The hearing panel may also require the losing party in a dispute to pay all or part of the filing fee.
(e) The hearing panel must apply State and County laws and all relevant caselaw to the facts of the dispute, and may order the payment of damages and any other relief that the law and the facts warrant. The decision of the hearing panel is binding on the parties, subject to judicial review under Section
2A-11.
(f) If the hearing has been held under Section
10B-12(d) by the Office of Zoning and Administrative Hearings, the hearing examiner must forward a recommended decision and order to a Commission panel. The Commission panel may adopt, reverse, modify, or remand the recommended decision before issuing its final order as provided in this Section.
(g) An appeal of a decision under this Section must be consolidated with any case filed under Section
10B-9(f) that arises out of the same facts.
(h) The court hearing an appeal must sustain the decision of the hearing panel unless the decision is:
(1) inconsistent with applicable law;
(2) not supported by substantial evidence on the record; or
(3) arbitrary and capricious, considering all facts before the hearing panel.
(i) The Commission, acting through the Department and the County Attorney, may enforce a decision of the hearing panel by taking any appropriate legal action.
(j) In addition to any other penalty allowed by law, any person who does not comply with a final Commission order issued under this Chapter has committed a class A civil violation. Each day that a person does not comply with a Commission order is a separate offense. (1990 L.M.C., ch. 33, § 1; 1994 L.M.C., ch. 9, § 1; 1996 L.M.C., ch. 13, § 1; , § 1; , § 1; , § 1.)
Editor’s note—, § 2, states, in part: The Amendments to Section 10B-13 contained in Section 1 of this Act apply to any dispute filed with the Commission after the date this Act takes effect.
2005 L.M.C., ch. 26, §§ 2 and 3, state:
Sec. 2. Regulations. A regulation which implements a function transferred to the Office of Consumer Protection by this Act continues in effect until otherwise amended or repealed, but any reference to any predecessor department or office must be treated as referring to the Office of Consumer Protection.
Sec. 3. Transition. This act does not invalidate or affect any action taken by the Department of Housing and Community Affairs before this Act took effect. Any responsibility or right granted by law, regulation, contract, or other document, and which is associated with a function transferred by this Act from the Department of Housing and Community Affairs, is transferred to the Office of Consumer Protection.
