In any action for dissolution of marriage, legal separation or annulment the court may refer the case or any matter in which the issues have been closed to a state referee who shall have been a judge of the referring court or who shall have been a judge of the Court of Common Pleas; provided the referring court shall retain jurisdiction to hear and decide any pendente lite or contempt matters until such time as the referee hears and decides the case or matter. The Chief Court Administrator, or his designee, may authorize the presiding judge to refer to such state referee any action for the dissolution of marriage, legal separation or annulment which is on the family relations uncontested assignment list. Such uncontested assignment list matters shall be heard on the date on which they are assigned to be heard on the uncontested assignment list, and if they are not heard on such date the reference shall be automatically revoked. Any hearing by such referee shall be conducted as provided in section 52-434.

(1959, P.A. 531, S. 13; P.A. 74-183, S. 285, 291; P.A. 75-261; 75-319, S. 1, 2; P.A. 78-379, S. 14, 27.)

History: P.A. 74-183 specified that referee “shall have been a judge of the referring court”; P.A. 75-261 substituted “dissolution of marriage” for “divorce”, allowed referee to have been a common pleas court judge and deleted provision specifying that referee's duty is “to hear and report to the court the facts”; P.A. 75-319 added proviso re retention of jurisdiction by referring court; P.A. 78-379 added provisions re referral and hearing of matters on uncontested assignment list; Sec. 51-182m temporarily renumbered as Sec. 51-340 and ultimately transferred to Sec. 46b-9 in 1979.

The expression in statute of an alternative method for referring dissolution actions to a referee explicitly does away with written consent as precondition to exercise of jurisdiction by referee. 181 C. 225. Cited. 186 C. 211; Id., 773.