The Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH) is New York City’s administrative law court.  The OATH Hearings Division conducts hearings on summonses issued by twenty-five New York City enforcement agencies for alleged violations of law or City rules.  Such enforcement agencies include the Departments of Buildings, Sanitation, Environmental Protection, Consumer and Worker Protection, and Health and Mental Hygiene, among others.

Recently, Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C., represented a major corporation that owns and rents real estate throughout New York City on a Department of Buildings (DOB) violation in which a default judgment for thousands of dollars was imposed against the corporation.  Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C. successfully vacated the default judgment and obtained a new hearing date for the client.

The DOB summons was issued for the alleged failure of the Client to file a parking structure inspection report with the DOB as required under Chapter 100, Section 103-16 of the Rules of the City of New York. The regulation requires an owner of a property with a parking structure located on the premises to engage a Qualified Parking Structure Inspector to assess the parking structure’s condition and to file the results of the observation with the DOB.  If an inspector identifies any deficiencies during their observation, they must determine the cause of the deficiencies and immediately notify both the property owner and the DOB. Such parking structure inspections are of great importance especially, after the 57 Ann Street parking garage collapse that took place on April 18, 2023.

Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C., determined the Client was entitled to make a motion to vacate the default judgment.  The Client was entitled to do so because this was the first request being made with respect to the DOB violation, the request was filed more than seventy-five days from the mailing date of the Default Decision, but within one year of the date of the Default Decision, and the Client had a reasonable excuse for its failure to appear at the hearing.

The Client’s first and only notice of the DOB violation was an OATH/ECB Account Financial Statement dated six months after the scheduled hearing date.  The statement indicated a default judgment was imposed against the Client for thousands of dollars due to the Client’s failure to appear for the scheduled hearing date.

Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C., researched the violation in further detail and requested copies of all correspondence related to the violation from OATH.  The firm was able to confirm the Client never received notice of the violation.  The Client’s landlord was incorrectly named as the Respondent, and the Landlord did not receive notice of the violation either.  The Affidavit of Service indicated that the summons was served by the DOB on the Secretary of State.  The Secretary of State mailed a copy of the summons to the Landlord’s address on file with the Secretary of State.  The Landlord’s address on file with the State was incorrect and as a result, the Summons was mailed back to the Secretary of State. Thus, the Client never received notice of the violation by the Landlord in time to defend itself on the scheduled hearing date due to the Landlord’s failure to maintain a current address with the Secretary of State.

As a result of the foregoing, OATH granted the motion filed by Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C., to vacate the default judgment.  Further, Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C., was able to obtain a new hearing date for this matter.  Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C., is working with the Client to ensure the Client is in compliance with Chapter 100, Section 103-16 of the Rules of the City of New York.

It is crucial for individuals and entities that are dealing with DOB violations to remedy violations as the failure to do so will result in additional fines.  Additionally, just because an individual or entity is granted a new hearing date does not mean they do not have to comply with the DOB’s rules and regulations.  Such individuals and entities should work on remedying a violation in the meantime, as even if the violation may be dismissed at the next hearing date, it is possible for the DOB to reissue the same violation.