§ 39-09 Representatives at Parking Violations Bureau Hearings.
RCNY § 39-09
(a)Brokers.
(1)Definitions. Broker. "Broker" means a person who: (i) is not the owner or operator of the summonsed vehicle; (ii) represents another person or firm; (iii) requests a hearing three or more times within any six month period; and (iv) is not an employee of the respondent (as defined in 19 RCNY § 39-09(b)(1)). Brokerage Company. "Brokerage Company" means a corporation, company, partnership or entity that: (i) is not the owner or operator of the summonsed vehicle; (ii) engages brokers to represent another person or firm; and (iii) requests a hearing three or more times within any six month period.
(2)Rules and authorization. The rules set forth in paragraph (8) of subdivision (a) of this section apply to brokers appearing before the Department of Finance in any capacity, which include but are not limited to: the Fleet Program, Stipulated Fine Program, Commercial Abatement Program, Car Rental Program, hearings by mail or web, CAU hearings, and scheduling and billing. A broker must register with the Department of Finance before representing a respondent before the Department of Finance in any capacity by submitting such forms as prescribed by the Department of Finance and receiving approval of such forms by the Department of Finance. For the broker to represent a respondent, the broker must submit a Broker Authorization Form prescribed by the Department of Finance. The Broker Authorization Form must be: (i) signed by a duly authorized principal, officer or partner of the respondent; (ii) duly acknowledged before a Notary Public; and (iii) mailed to PVB by certified mail, return receipt requested, electronically submitted to PVB as prescribed by the Department of Finance, or hand delivered to the Fleet Program Manager, who will issue a receipt. The Broker Authorization Forms will be filed in a central location in the Consolidated Adjudication Unit (CAU). Upon revocation of the authorization of a broker to represent a person or company, it is the joint and several responsibility of the broker and the person or company to notify PVB within seven days by certified mail, return receipt requested.
(3)Hearing location and schedule. All hearings involving brokers shall be conducted by appointment only in CAU. No other location or unit (e.g. business centers) shall schedule or conduct hearings for respondents represented by brokers.
(4)Fleet Program and Car Rental Program. A broker shall not represent a Business Entity unless such Business Entity is registered in the Fleet Program or the Car Rental Program. For vehicles registered in either the Fleet Program or the Car Rental Program, no hearing will be allowed without a PVB computer-generated log.* (5) Reserved.
(6)Summons copy fees. Respondents represented by brokers are subject to the same summons copy fees as the general public (19 RCNY § 39-02(e)).
(7)Hearing procedures.
(i)Before each hearing, brokers must submit to the CAU reception clerk all of the summonses scheduled to be adjudicated. These summonses will be delivered to the presiding judge before the hearing begins. No additional summonses may be submitted or accepted for adjudication at that hearing session once the hearing begins without the authorization of the CAU manager.
(ii)The hearing shall not be interrupted or stopped by the broker because of a dispute on a ruling. The determination of the presiding judge is final and may be overruled only by an appeal.
(iii)Except for the lunch break, the hearing shall proceed without interruption until the end of the day, unless before then the ALJ adjudicates all of the summonses the broker has submitted or adjourns the hearing.
(iv)Absent such adjournment, if the broker is not present or otherwise fails to proceed at the hearing, the ALJ may render judgment on all of the unadjudicated summonses as if they were submitted for a hearing by mail.
(v)Any summons not adjudicated on the day of the hearing due to an adjournment for further evidence shall be retained by CAU together with documents attached thereto, and shall be adjudicated on the adjourned date by the same ALJ who began the hearing, if possible. On that adjourned date, the ALJ shall not hear any of the broker summonses except those left unadjudicated from the original hearing without special authorization from the CAU manager.
(8)Conduct while at PVB.
(vi)Brokers must not present a demand or an opinion of fact or law to the ALJ at a hearing unless the broker holds it in good faith and can support it on reasonable grounds.
(vii)A broker must not sign an application in the name of the applicant. A broker signing an application pursuant to a broker authorization form must sign in the broker's own name.
(viii)Brokers must not attempt to initiate conversations or correspondence about particular cases with the ALJ before or after the hearing. At the hearing brokers must discuss the scheduled matters only. Brokers must not telephone, write, email, or otherwise communicate with the ALJ or other employees of the Department of Finance before or after the hearing with additional arguments.
(ix)Brokers must not attempt to influence any ALJ or employee of the Department of Finance by the use of threats, false accusations, intimidation or coercion; promises of advantage; or the presenting or offer of any gift, favor or thing of value. A broker must report promptly any such acts of which the broker is aware to the New York City Department of Investigation.
(x)Brokers must not engage in disrespectful conduct when communicating with an ALJ regarding Parking Violations Bureau business at any time through means including, but not limited to, using abusive language or disrupting a hearing.
(xi)Brokers must not go into any non-public service area unless accompanied or authorized by a manager or supervisor and they must not operate any PVB terminal or other equipment at any time.
(xii)Brokers must not request any Department of Finance clerical staff to perform non-routine tasks. All such requests must be addressed directly to and approved by the CAU Manager. "Nonroutine" means anything out of the regular processing stream.
(xiii)Every broker must follow the directions provided by their clients to pay or contest parking violation summonses. A broker shall not contest a summons where a client has instructed the broker to plead guilty and pay the summons. A broker shall not plead guilty to a summons where a client has instructed the broker to contest the summons.
(xiv)A broker in receipt of a payment from a client for a parking violation summons must remit in a timely manner a payment to the Department of Finance to pay the applicable summons in accordance with applicable laws and rules.
(9)Penalty for violation of these rules. Any broker or brokerage company who willfully or repeatedly violates these rules may be barred from representing clients at PVB in any capacity. The Commissioner may, after providing notice to the broker and, if the brokerage company is also subject to suspension, the brokerage company, and an opportunity to be heard, suspend the broker for any period up to life from appearing before the Department of Finance in any capacity, except that the broker may appear on parking violations issued in the broker’s name, and/or suspend a brokerage company for any period up to and until the dissolution of the brokerage company from appearing before the Department of Finance in any capacity, except that the brokerage company may appear on parking violations issued in the brokerage company’s name. Such notice(s) will inform the broker and, if the brokerage company is subject to suspension, the brokerage company, of the reasons for the proposed suspension and that the broker and the brokerage company, if the brokerage company is subject to suspension, has the right to present information as to why the broker and/or brokerage company should not be suspended to the Commissioner, or their designee, within 10 business days of delivery of the notice by hand or 15 business days of the posting of notice by mail. Any suspension of a broker will apply solely to the broker unless the Department of Finance has evidence either that the brokerage company which employed the broker had knowledge of the broker’s infractions and did not inform the Department of Finance or that the standard practice of such brokerage company was to commit infractions in its interactions with the Department of Finance regardless of the broker involved. Any suspension of a brokerage company will apply to all brokers employed by the brokerage company for the period during which those brokers remain employed by the brokerage company. Any brokerage company shall be barred from representing clients at PVB in any capacity when a broker subject to a life suspension is employed by, engaged by, is subcontracted to, consults with or has any ownership interest in, such brokerage company.
(b)Employees.
(c)Unpaid representatives.
(d)Additional CAU procedures.
