Bill Text: NY S06444 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Relates to the docketing of adjudications of certain violations of laws enforced by the New York city department of consumer affairs.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2020-12-28 - COMMITTED TO RULES [S06444 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-S06444-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6444 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN SENATE June 11, 2019 ___________ Introduced by Sen. THOMAS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules AN ACT to amend the county law and the New York city charter, in relation to the docketing of adjudications of certain violations of laws enforced by the New York city department of consumer affairs The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 4 of section 918 of the county law, as sepa- 2 rately amended by chapters 419 and 473 of the laws of 1988, is amended 3 to read as follows: 4 4. Any other laws to the contrary notwithstanding, the county clerk in 5 each of the counties within the city of New York is authorized and 6 empowered to maintain separate judgment docket volumes containing the 7 printed transcript or transcripts, in strict alphabetical order of judg- 8 ment made, entered and docketed in the civil court of the city of New 9 York against individuals, corporations, and other entities on behalf of 10 the parking violations bureau, the environmental control board, the taxi 11 and limousine commission, the department of consumer affairs and the 12 commissioner of jurors of the city of New York, provided that the judg- 13 ments made, entered and docketed in the civil court of the city of New 14 York against individuals, corporations, and other entities on behalf of 15 the department of consumer affairs shall be limited to final decisions 16 and orders imposing civil penalties. These volumes may be maintained in 17 the form of computer print outs which shall contain the date of judg- 18 ment, the name and address of the judgment debtor or debtors, the amount 19 of the judgment and other information which the county clerk may deem 20 necessary to sufficiently describe the parties to the action or proceed- 21 ing or nature or the manner of the entry of the judgment. [Provided,22however, with respect to judgments on behalf of the parking violations23bureau the] The county clerk may, in his or her discretion, in lieu of 24 such volumes, maintain the aforementioned data in a micrographic or EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD13287-01-9S. 6444 2 1 computer retrievable format. With respect to judgments on behalf of the 2 parking violations bureau such volumes or other format shall be main- 3 tained pursuant to this subdivision for only those individuals, corpo- 4 rations, and other entities having vehicles registered in the counties 5 within the city of New York. 6 § 2. Section 918 of the county law is amended by adding a new subdivi- 7 sion 5 to read as follows: 8 5. Any other laws to the contrary notwithstanding, the department of 9 consumer affairs may file a certified copy of the final decision or 10 order of such department authorizing restitution, imposing monetary 11 damages or providing equitable relief to a party other than the city of 12 New York with the county clerk of any county within the city of New York 13 where a respondent resides or has a place of business, or, if the 14 respondent is a non-resident of the city of New York and no longer has a 15 place of business within the city of New York at the time such depart- 16 ment seeks to file such certified copy, the department of consumer 17 affairs may file such certified copy of such final decision or order 18 with the county clerk of the county in which the department of consumer 19 affairs is located. A party other than the city of New York may file a 20 certified copy of such final decision or order provided that such party 21 has been assigned such final decision or order or a portion of such 22 final decision or order authorizing restitution, imposing monetary 23 damages or providing equitable relief to such party. The filing of such 24 final decision or order shall have the full force and effect of a judg- 25 ment duly docketed in the office of such clerk. The final decision or 26 order may be enforced by and in the name of the department, or by a 27 party other than the city of New York who has been assigned such deci- 28 sion or order or a portion thereof, in the same manner and with like 29 effect as that prescribed by the civil practice law and rules for the 30 enforcement of a money judgment. 31 § 3. Subdivision (h) of section 2203 of the New York city charter, as 32 amended by local law number 46 of the city of New York for the year 33 2013, is amended to read as follows: 34 (h) (1) Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law, the depart- 35 ment shall be authorized, upon due notice and hearing, to impose civil 36 penalties for, and to order restitution or other forms of equitable 37 relief and payment of monetary damages in connection with, the violation 38 of any laws or rules the enforcement of which is within the jurisdiction 39 of the department pursuant to this charter, the administrative code or 40 any other general, special or local law. The department shall have the 41 power to render decisions and orders and to impose civil penalties for 42 all such violations[, and to order equitable relief for and payment of43monetary damages in connection with enforcement of chapter 8 of title 2044of the administrative code]. Except to the extent that dollar limits are 45 otherwise specifically provided, such civil penalties shall not exceed 46 five hundred dollars for each violation. All proceedings authorized 47 pursuant to this subdivision shall be conducted in accordance with rules 48 promulgated by the commissioner. The remedies and penalties provided 49 for in this subdivision shall be in addition to any other remedies or 50 penalties provided for the enforcement of such provisions under any 51 other law including, but not limited to, civil or criminal actions or 52 proceedings. 53 (2) All such proceedings shall be commenced by the service of a notice 54 of violation. The commissioner shall prescribe the form and wording of 55 notices of violation. The notice of violation or copy thereof when 56 filled in and served shall constitute notice of the violation charged,S. 6444 3 1 and, if sworn to or affirmed, shall be prima facie evidence of the facts 2 contained therein. The notice of violation shall contain information 3 advising the person charged of the manner and the time in which such 4 person may either admit or deny the violation charged in the notice. 5 Such notice of violation shall also contain a warning to advise the 6 person charged that failure to plead in the manner and time stated in 7 the notice may result in a default decision and order being entered 8 against such person. The original or a copy of the notice of violation 9 shall be filed and retained by the department and shall be deemed a 10 record kept in the ordinary course of business. 11 (3) Where a respondent has failed to plead within the time allowed by 12 the rules of the commissioner or has failed to appear on a designated 13 hearing date or a subsequent date following an adjournment of a desig- 14 nated violation, such failure to plead or appear shall be deemed, for 15 all purposes, to be an admission of liability for the purposes of such 16 designated violation and shall be grounds for rendering a default deci- 17 sion and order imposing a penalty up to the maximum amount prescribed 18 under law for the designated violation charged. For purposes of this 19 subdivision, "designated violation" means: 20 (A) any violation of title 20 of the administrative code or of any law 21 or rule, the enforcement of which is within the jurisdiction of the 22 department, to the extent any final decision or order relating to such 23 violation authorizes restitution, imposes an award of monetary damages 24 or provides equitable relief to a consumer or an employee; 25 (B) any violation of subchapters 1, 7, 11, 22, 29, 30, 31 or 35 of 26 chapter 2 of title 20 of the administrative code or of chapters 8, 12 or 27 13 of title 20 of the administrative code or of article eleven of the 28 general business law, including any rules or regulations promulgated 29 thereunder, to the extent any final decision or order relating to such 30 violation imposes civil penalties; or 31 (C) any violation of subchapters 1, 8 or 14-a of chapter 5 of title 20 32 of the administrative code, including any rules promulgated under such 33 subchapters, to the extent any final decision or order relating to such 34 violation imposes civil penalties for two or more violations and the 35 aggregate penalty for such violations exceeds five thousand dollars. 36 (4) At the request of a consumer or an employee, the department shall 37 assign, without consideration or liability, a final decision or order, 38 provided that such decision or order solely authorizes restitution, 39 imposes an award of monetary damages or provides equitable relief to 40 such consumer or employee, or that portion of such award that authorizes 41 restitution, imposes an award of monetary damages or provides equitable 42 relief to such consumer or employee. After such assignment, the depart- 43 ment shall not be required to take any further action to enforce such 44 decision or order. 45 (5) Any final decision or order of the department relating to a desig- 46 nated violation, whether the adjudication was had by hearing or upon 47 default or otherwise, shall constitute a judgment that may be entered 48 and docketed in the civil court of the city of New York or any other 49 place provided for the entry and docketing of civil judgments within the 50 state and may be enforced without court proceedings in the same manner 51 as the enforcement of money judgments entered and docketed in civil 52 actions. 53 (6) Notwithstanding paragraph five of this subdivision, before a judg- 54 ment based upon a default may be so entered and docketed, the department 55 must have notified the respondent in accordance with this paragraph. The 56 commissioner shall determine the form of such notice. If the respondentS. 6444 4 1 is a licensee of the department, notice shall be provided by first class 2 mail or hand delivery to the address the licensee has filed with the 3 department pursuant to section 20-112 of the administrative code. For 4 all other respondents, the notice shall be served by first class mail or 5 hand delivery to the address where the decision or order was sent to the 6 respondent by the department. Such notice shall state that: 7 (A) a decision and order of default was issued against the respondent 8 by the department and the amounts of the penalty, restitution, or other 9 monetary relief imposed; 10 (B) a judgment will be entered and docketed in the civil court of the 11 city of New York or any other place provided for the entry of civil 12 judgments within the state of New York; and 13 (C) entry and docketing of such judgment may be avoided by requesting 14 a stay of default for good cause shown and either requesting a new hear- 15 ing or entering a plea pursuant to applicable rules within thirty days 16 of the mailing or hand delivery date of such notice. 17 (7) The department shall not enter any final decision or order pursu- 18 ant to this subdivision unless the notice of violation shall have been 19 served as follows: 20 (A) for any respondent that is a licensee of the department, the 21 department shall serve a notice of violation of a designated violation 22 in one of the following ways: 23 (i) by mailing a copy of such notice to the address the licensee has 24 filed with the department pursuant to section 20-112 of the administra- 25 tive code; or 26 (ii) by personally serving the respondent or delivering the notice of 27 violation to a person of suitable age and discretion employed by the 28 respondent at the premises at which the respondent conducts the business 29 the operation of which gave rise to the violation. In the case of a 30 business that is carried out at large and not at a fixed place of busi- 31 ness or that has filed with the department an out-of-state address 32 pursuant to section 20-112 of the administrative code, the department 33 shall also serve a licensee or employee of such business at the location 34 which gave rise to the violation, the secretary of state pursuant to 35 section three hundred four of the business corporation law or an agent 36 designated for service pursuant to rule three hundred eighteen of the 37 civil practice law and rules or section three hundred five of the busi- 38 ness corporation law. 39 (B) For any respondent that is not a licensee of the department, the 40 department shall serve a notice of violation of a designated violation 41 in one of the following ways: 42 (i) by serving the respondent in the same manner as is prescribed for 43 service of process by article three of the civil practice law and rules 44 or article three of the business corporation law; 45 (ii) by delivering such notice to a person of suitable age and 46 discretion employed by the respondent at the premises where the respond- 47 ent is operating; 48 (iii) by affixing such notice in a conspicuous place to the premises 49 where the respondent is operating and delivering such notice by first 50 class mail to the address of such premises; 51 (iv) by sending such notice by certified mail, return receipt 52 requested, to the respondent's last known business address, provided 53 that delivery of such notice shall be restricted to the respondent; or 54 (v) by sending such notice by electronic mail to the respondent's 55 electronic mail address, provided that the department has received 56 communication from such electronic mail address in the one year prior toS. 6444 5 1 the electronic mailing of such notice, and provided further that service 2 in the manner prescribed by clauses (i) though (iv) of this subparagraph 3 are impracticable. 4 (8) Service by certified mail pursuant to clause (iv) of subparagraph 5 B of paragraph seven of this subdivision shall be deemed complete upon 6 the mailing of the notice of violation described in such clause, unless 7 the notice of violation is returned to the sender by the United States 8 postal service for any reason other than refusal of delivery. Service 9 by electronic mail pursuant to clause (v) of subparagraph B of paragraph 10 seven of this subdivision shall be deemed complete upon the electronic 11 mailing of the notice of violation described in such clause unless the 12 department receives an electronic message that its electronic mailing of 13 the notice of violation was undeliverable. 14 (9) Proof of service made pursuant to paragraph seven of this subdivi- 15 sion shall be maintained by, and preserved within, the department for at 16 least six years following the date of the final decision or order relat- 17 ing to the adjudication of the subject notice of violation. 18 (10) Entry and docketing of a judgment shall not limit the application 19 of any other remedies or penalties provided for the enforcement of laws 20 or rules under the jurisdiction of the department. 21 (11) For the purposes of this subdivision, no act or practice shall be 22 deemed a deceptive trade practice unless it has been declared a decep- 23 tive trade practice and described with reasonable particularity in a 24 local law or in a rule or regulation promulgated by the commissioner. 25 [(4)] (12) Notwithstanding any other inconsistent provision of law, 26 powers conferred upon the department by this subdivision may be exer- 27 cised by the office of administrative trials and hearings consistent 28 with orders of the mayor issued in accordance with subdivisions two and 29 three of section one thousand forty-eight of this charter. 30 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately and shall only apply to 31 decisions or orders issued on or after such effective date.