What to do if your business is issued a civil summons for an alleged violation -

The Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH) is the City’s central, independent administrative law court. OATH has three divisions that are responsible for adjudicating City matters: the OATH Trials Division, the OATH Hearings Division and the OATH Special Education Hearings Division.

The OATH Trials Division adjudicates a wide range of issues that can be referred by any City agency, board or commission. Its caseload includes employee discipline and disability hearings for civil servants, Conflicts of Interest Board cases, proceedings related to the retention of seized vehicles by the police, City-issued license and regulatory enforcement, real estate, zoning and loft law violations, City contract disputes and human rights violations under the City Human Rights Law. OATH Trials are conducted by Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) who are appointed to five-year terms.

In the OATH Hearings Division, hearings are conducted on summonses issued by 25 different City enforcement agencies for alleged violations of law or City rules. These summonses are issued by the Departments of Buildings, Sanitation, Environmental Protection, Consumer and Worker Protection, Health and Mental Hygiene and the Taxi and Limousine Commission, among others. OATH hearings are conducted by Hearing Officers. The OATH Help Center assists self-represented litigants to understand the law, the hearing process and other processes to correctly respond and resolve summonses.

The OATH Special Education Hearings Division adjudicates disputes about special education services provided to New York City children.

OATH also houses the Center for Creative Conflict Resolution, which provides mediation and restorative justice support to City government agencies and the public, and the Judicial Institute, a resource center that provides training, continuing education, research and support services for the various administrative law judges and tribunals throughout New York City.

Responding to summonses is vital information for businesses who operate in NYC. This webinar focuses on preparing businesses to respond to summonses returnable to OATH with step-by-step instructions: outreach-infographic-webversion-en_012624.pdf (nyc.gov).

This webinar also provides useful information about free MEND mediation services that are available to businesses: MEND-Establishment & Neighborhood Disputes - OATH (nyc.gov). For more information about OATH please refer to OATH’s website: Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (nyc.gov).