Je veux savoir à propos de…

THE CITY RECORD

6570
1

Whether granting the adjournment is necessary for the party requesting the adjournment to effectively present the case;

2

Whether granting the adjournment is unfair to the other party;

3

Whether granting the adjournment will cause inconvenience to any witness;

4

The age of the case and the number of adjournments previously granted;

5

Whether the party requesting the adjournment had the a reasonable opportunity to prepare for the scheduled hearing;

6

Whether the need for the adjournment is due to facts that are beyond the requesting partys control;
The balance of the need for efficient and expeditious adjudication of the case and the need for full and fair consideration of the issues relevant to the case; and Any other fact that the Hearing Officer considers to be relevant to the request for an adjournment.

7
8 e c
Once a hearing has been adjourned, neither party may request a reschedule pursuant to Section 6-05 of these rules this chapter. A denial of an adjournment request is not subject to separate or interim review or appeal.

2. Section 6-15 of Subchapter C of Chapter 6 of Title 48 of the rules of the City of New York is REPEALED and restated to read as follows:
6-15 Appearances of Inspectors Adjournments for Inspector Testimony a
Upon request of either party, a Hearing Officer may grant an adjournment for the testimony of an Inspector if the Hearing Officer finds that the Inspectors testimony is likely to be necessary to a fair hearing on the violations charged and/or the defenses asserted.

b
If a Hearing Officer has adjourned a hearing solely for the purpose of obtaining the Inspectors testimony, and the Respondent timely appears on the adjourned hearing date but the Inspector fails timely to appear, the hearing shall not be further adjourned solely to obtain the testimony of such Inspector, unless the Respondent consents to the second adjournment or the Hearing Officer finds that extraordinary circumstances warrant the second adjournment.
Extraordinary circumstances are circumstances that could not have been reasonably foreseen by the Petitioner.

c
A Hearing Officer may not adjourn a hearing on more than two 2 occasions for the appearance of the Inspector.

E d5

Notice of Promulgation of Rule NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY
VESTED in the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings OATH
in accordance with Sections 1049 and 1043 of the New York City Charter that OATH amends Sections 6-09 and 6-24 of Subchapter F of Chapter 6 of Title 48 of the rules of the City of New York, concerning appearances. The proposed rule was published in The City Record on August 27, 2018, and a public hearing was held on September 26, 2018.
No one testified at the public hearing concerning this rule. OATH
received one written comment from Jack Jaffa & Associates concerning the requirement that attorneys and registered representatives must email OATH no later than noon two business days before a scheduled hearing date, a written list of scheduled cases if a representative plans to appear on fifteen or more summonses on a given hearing date. They stated that this requirement is a detriment as OATH does not allow the addition of cases to the list once it has been submitted to OATH.
The amendments to Section 6-24 do not substantively change the requirement to appear on fifteen or more summonses on a given hearing date, which was originally promulgated so that the OATH
Hearings Division could effectively manage the large volume of hearings scheduled for adjudication each day. Each OATH Hearings Division location manages hundreds of hearings a day, requiring procedures and systems to efficiently advance the hearing calendar.
By notifying OATH in advance that one registered representative or attorney will appear on fifteen or more summonses, the Tribunal can then determine how to best allocate its resources to expedite hearings and reduce wait time for both self-represented and represented respondents. The two-day advance notice requirement is necessary for OATH to manage its day-to-day operations.
Upon further review, OATH revised Section 6-09b1 so that a respondent may timely appear within three hours of the scheduled hearing time instead of within two hours of the scheduled hearing time. Recognizing that many respondents at OATH are self-

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2018

represented, this amendment gives respondents an additional hour to timely appear for a hearing and avoid a default decision that imposes higher penalties. OATH also revised Sections 6-09b1 and 6-24a2
to clarify that this three hour allowance does not apply to registered representatives or attorneys who are appearing on fifteen or more summonses on a given hearing date. OATH also included in Section 6-24a the requirement that Notices of Appearance be submitted in advance of the hearing as directed by the Tribunal, which comports with OATHs current process.
Statement of Basis and Purpose of Final Rule The Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings OATH amends Section 6-09 of Subchapter C and Section 6-24 of Subchapter F of Chapter 6 of Title 48 of the rules of the City of New York, concerning appearances.
The amendments to Section 6-09 reorder the subdivisions and clarify the rules about appearing before the Tribunal, as follows:
Subdivisions a and b set out who may appear on behalf of a respondent and how a respondent or representative may appear.
Subdivision c explains that if a respondent does not wish to contest the summons, they can pay the penalty before the hearing, which is considered an appearance and admission.
Subdivision d provides the framework for when a current owner of a property may appear on behalf of a prior owner.
Subdivision e provides that the failure of a respondent to timely appear constitutes a default.
Subdivision f references the requirements in 6-24 for registered representatives who wish to appear on 15 or more summonses on a given hearing date, and provides that failure to comply with 6-24 will constitute a default.
Subdivisions g and h set out how Petitioner may timely appear, and provide that the hearing may proceed without Petitioner.
The amendments to Section 6-09 are intended to expedite hearings and improve the overall efficiency of the Tribunal. These amendments set timeframes for Respondent and Petitioners appearance to be considered timely. Section 6-09b1 adds the condition that a respondents appearance is timely if the respondent appears at the scheduled hearing location within three hours of the scheduled time.
Section 6-09g adds the condition that, if the Petitioner elects to appear at the Tribunal, Petitioners appearance is timely if Petitioner is ready to proceed within 30 minutes of the timely appearance of the respondent.
The amendments to Section 6-09 also no longer permit a person to move for discretionary intervention, which, if granted, would have allowed an intervenor to participate in a hearing, as a witness but not as a party, at the discretion of the hearing officer. Discretionary intervention was rarely sought and did not grant the intervenor the status of a party to the proceeding.
The amendments to Section 6-24 clarify the requirements for an attorney or registered representative to appear on 15 or more summonses on a given hearing date.
New material is underlined.
Deleted material is in brackets.
Section 1. Subdivisions a through g of Section 6-09 of Subchapter C of Chapter 6 of Title 48 of the rules of the City of New York are REPEALED and restated, and a new subdivision h is added as follows:
a
b
A Respondent may appear for a hearing personally or be represented by:
1

an attorney admitted to practice law in New York State, or
2

a representative registered to appear before the Tribunal pursuant to 6-23 of this chapter, or
3

any other person authorized by a Respondent to appear at or before the Tribunal on behalf of the Respondent, as set forth in 6-23a of this chapter.

A Respondent may appear for a hearing by:
1

Appearing in person or by representative at the place, date, and time scheduled for the hearing. Respondents appearance is timely if Respondent or Respondents representative appears at the scheduled hearing location and is ready to proceed within three 3 hours of the scheduled hearing time for a summons. However, a representative or attorney appearing on fifteen 15 or more summonses on a given hearing date must comply with the requirements set forth in 6-24 of this chapter to be considered timely; or
2

Appearing by remote method pursuant to 6-10 of this chapter, only where the summons indicates that such opportunity is available to a Respondent. Where the