(1) The complainant shall have the right to commence suit in the superior court within
any county as provided in § 28-5-28 within ninety (90) days of the date of the right to sue notice. Either party may
claim a trial by jury in the superior court.
(2) Notwithstanding the termination of proceedings before the commission upon the granting
of the right to sue notice, the parties may agree to have the commission seek to conciliate
or mediate settlement of the case within the ninety-day (90) period in which the complainant
has the right to commence suit in superior court.
(o) If an election is made under subsection (n):
(1) The complainant, the commission, or the attorney general may commence a civil action
on behalf of the aggrieved person in the superior court within any county as provided
in § 28-5-28 within ninety (90) days of the date of the right to sue notice under subsection (n);
(2) Any party may claim a trial by jury. Any aggrieved person with respect to the issues
to be determined in a civil action under this subsection may intervene as of right
in that civil action;
(3) The superior court may make orders consistent with subsection (h) and may also award
punitive damages and such damages as the court deems just and proper; provided, that
the court shall not enter a consent order, dismissal stipulation, or judgment settling
claims of discrimination in an action or proceeding under this chapter, unless the
parties and their counsel attest that a waiver of all or substantially all attorneys’
fees was not compelled as a condition of the settlement.