(a) When a claim is denied in whole or in part by the liquidator, written notice of the determination shall be given to the claimant or the claimant’s attorney by first class mail at the address shown in the proof of claim. Not later than thirty days after the mailing of the notice, the claimant may file objections with the liquidator. Any filed objections shall clearly set forth all facts and the legal basis for the objections and the reasons why the claim should be allowed. If no such filing is made, the determination shall be final.

(b) Whenever objections are filed with the liquidator and the liquidator does not alter the determination of the claim as a result of the objections, the liquidator shall ask the court for a hearing as soon as practicable and give notice of the hearing by first class mail to the claimant or the claimant’s attorney and to any other persons directly affected, not less than ten nor more than thirty days before the date of the hearing. The matter may be heard by the court or by a court-appointed referee. The hearing shall be conducted on the record in an informal manner and the formal rules of evidence and civil procedure need not be strictly applied. Hearings shall be held without a jury. Prehearing discovery shall be limited to such pretrial discovery as expressly permitted in arbitration proceedings under chapter 909.

(c) When a disputed claim is heard by a referee, the referee shall submit written findings of fact and conclusions of law along with the recommendation for disposition to the court. The referee’s recommendation shall become the final judgment of the court, unless objections to the referee’s recommendations are filed by the liquidator or claimant with the court not later than fifteen days after the recommendation is mailed to the liquidator and claimant.

(d) The final disposition by the court of a disputed claim, whether after a hearing by the court or after a recommendation by a referee, shall be deemed a final judgment for purposes of appeal.

(e) The courts of this state may make special rules of civil procedure for disputed claims, provided the rules are not inconsistent with this chapter.

(P.A. 79-382, S. 39; P.A. 98-214, S. 20; P.A. 17-15, S. 90.)

History: Sec. 38-459 transferred to Sec. 38a-941 in 1991; P.A. 98-214 amended Subsec. (a) to make technical changes, to add provision that filed objections set forth facts and legal basis for objections and reasons why claim should be allowed, and to substitute “the determination shall be final” for “the claimant may not further object to the determination”, amended Subsec. (b) to make technical changes, to substitute “the determination” for “his denial” re liquidator, to delete “who shall submit findings of fact along with his recommendation” re referee and to add provisions re conduct of hearing and added new Subsecs. (c) to (e), inclusive, re disputed claims heard by a referee, re final disposition of a disputed claim for purposes of appeal and re special rules of civil procedure for disputed claims, respectively; P.A. 17-15 made a technical change in Subsec. (e).