N.Y. Public Authorities Law § 2985: Owner liability for failure of operator to comply with toll collection regulations

§ 2985. Owner liability for failure of operator to comply with toll

collection regulations. 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law,

every public authority which operates a toll highway bridge and/or

tunnel facility is hereby authorized and empowered to impose monetary

liability on the owner of a vehicle for failure of an operator thereof

to comply with the toll collection regulations of such public authority

in accordance with the provisions of this section.

2. The owner of a vehicle shall be liable for a civil penalty imposed

pursuant to this section if such vehicle was used or operated with the

permission of the owner, express or implied, in violation of toll

collection regulations, and such violation is evidenced by information

obtained from a photo-monitoring system, provided, however, that no

owner of a vehicle shall be liable for a penalty imposed pursuant to

this section where the operator of such vehicle has been convicted of a

violation of toll collection regulations for the same incident.

3. For purposes of this section, the term "owner" shall mean any

person, corporation, partnership, firm, agency, association, lessor or

organization who, at the time of the violation and with respect to the

vehicle identified in the notice of liability: (a) is the beneficial or

equitable owner of such vehicle; or (b) has title to such vehicle; or

(c) is the registrant or co-registrant of such vehicle which is

registered with the department of motor vehicles of this state or any

other state, territory, district, province, nation or other

jurisdiction; or (d) subject to the limitations set forth in subdivision

ten of this section, uses such vehicle in its vehicle renting and/or

leasing business; and includes (e) a person entitled to the use and

possession of a vehicle subject to a security interest in another

person. For purposes of this section, the term "photo-monitoring system"

shall mean a vehicle sensor installed to work in conjunction with a toll

collection facility which automatically produces one or more

photographs, one or more microphotographs, a videotape or other recorded

images of each vehicle at the time it is used or operated in violation

of toll collection regulations. For purposes of this section, the term

"toll collection regulations" shall mean: those rules and regulations of

a public authority providing for and requiring the payment of tolls

and/or charges prescribed by such public authority for the use of

bridges, tunnels or highways under its jurisdiction or those rules and

regulations of a public authority making it unlawful to refuse to pay or

to evade or to attempt to evade the payment of all or part of any toll

and/or charge for the use of bridges, tunnels or highways under the

jurisdiction of such public authority. For purposes of this section, the

term "vehicle" shall mean every device in, upon or by which a person or

property is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway, except

devices used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks.

4. A certificate, sworn to or affirmed by an agent of the public

authority which charged that the violation occurred, or a facsimile

thereof, based upon inspection of photographs, microphotographs,

videotape or other recorded images produced by a photo-monitoring system

shall be prima facie evidence of the facts contained therein and shall

be admissible in any proceeding charging a violation of toll collection

regulations, provided that any photographs, microphotographs, videotape

or other recorded images evidencing such a violation shall be available

for inspection and admission into evidence in any proceeding to

adjudicate the liability for such violation.

5. An owner found liable for a violation of toll collection

regulations pursuant to this section shall for a first violation thereof

be liable for a monetary penalty not to exceed fifty dollars or two

times the toll evaded whichever is greater; for a second violation

thereof both within eighteen months be liable for a monetary penalty not

to exceed one hundred dollars or five times the toll evaded whichever is

greater; for a third or subsequent violation thereof all within eighteen

months be liable for a monetary penalty not to exceed one hundred fifty

dollars or ten times the toll evaded whichever is greater.

6. An imposition of liability pursuant to this section shall be based

upon a preponderance of evidence as submitted. An imposition of

liability pursuant to this section shall not be deemed a conviction as

an operator and shall not be made part of the motor vehicle operating

record, furnished pursuant to section three hundred fifty-four of the

vehicle and traffic law, of the person upon whom such liability is

imposed nor shall it be used for insurance purposes in the provision of

motor vehicle insurance coverage.

7. (a) A notice of liability shall be sent by first class mail to each

person alleged to be liable as an owner for a violation of toll

collection regulations. Such notice shall be mailed no later than thirty

days after the alleged violation. Personal delivery on the owner shall

not be required. A manual or automatic record of mailing prepared in the

ordinary course of business shall be prima facie evidence of the mailing

of the notice.

(b) A notice of liability shall contain the name and address of the

person alleged to be liable as an owner for a violation of toll

collection regulations pursuant to this section, the registration number

of the vehicle involved in such violation, the location where such

violation took place, the date and time of such violation and the

identification number of the photo-monitoring system which recorded the

violation or other document locator number.

(c) The notice of liability shall contain information advising the

person charged of the manner and the time in which he may contest the

liability alleged in the notice. Such notice of liability shall also

contain a warning to advise the persons charged that failure to contest

in the manner and time provided shall be deemed an admission of

liability and that a default judgment may be entered thereon.

(d) The notice of liability shall be prepared and mailed by the public

authority having jurisdiction over the toll facility where the violation

of toll collection regulations occurred.

8. (a) Adjudication of the liability imposed upon owners by this

section shall be by the entity having jurisdiction over violations of

the rules and regulations of the public authority serving the notice of

liability or where authorized by an administrative tribunal and all

violations shall be heard and determined in the county in which the

violation is alleged to have occurred, or in New York city and upon the

consent of both parties, in any county within New York city in which the

public authority operates or maintains a facility, and in the same

manner as charges of other regulatory violations of such public

authority or pursuant to the rules and regulations of such

administrative tribunal as the case may be.

(b) Upon exhaustion of remedies pursuant to this section or section

twenty-nine hundred eighty-five-a of this title, as applicable, the New

York state bridge authority, thruway authority, triborough bridge and

tunnel authority, metropolitan transportation authority, and port

authority of New York and New Jersey, a bi-state agency created by

compact set forth in chapter one hundred fifty-four of the laws of

nineteen hundred twenty-one, shall have the power to enter judgments for

unpaid liabilities, provided that such unpaid liabilities include the

failure to pay tolls, fees, or other charges or the failure to have such

tolls, fees or other charges dismissed or transferred in response to

three or more notices of violation issued within a five year period

charging the registrant of a motor vehicle with a violation of toll

collection regulations, and to enforce such judgments, without court

proceedings, in the same manner as the enforcement of money judgments in

civil actions in any court of competent jurisdiction or any other place

provided for the entry of civil judgment within the state of New York,

after a period of notice pursuant to paragraph (c) of this subdivision.

The applicable tolling authority shall not enforce such judgments until

thirty days have elapsed from issuing a notice pursuant to paragraph (c)

of this subdivision.

(c) Prior to entering judgments for unpaid liabilities pursuant to

paragraph (b) of this subdivision, the applicable tolling authority

shall notify the person subject to such judgment, by first class mail,

that such person is at risk of entry of a judgment against them if they

fail to pay such unpaid liabilities. The form and content of such notice

shall be prescribed by the applicable tolling authority, and shall

contain a warning to advise the person that failure to pay the

applicable unpaid liabilities within a period of not less than thirty

days of such notice will result in the enforcement of a judgment against

them, and shall further contain information about the process to dispute

such liabilities, consistent with this section or section twenty-nine

hundred eighty-five-a of this title, as applicable.

9. If an owner receives a notice of liability pursuant to this section

for any time period during which the vehicle was reported to the police

department as having been stolen, it shall be a valid defense to an

allegation of liability for a violation of toll collection regulations

that the vehicle had been reported to the police as stolen prior to the

time the violation occurred and had not been recovered by such time. If

an owner receives a notice of liability pursuant to this section for any

time period during which the vehicle was stolen, but not as yet reported

to the police as having been stolen, it shall be a valid defense to an

allegation of liability for a violation of toll collection regulations

pursuant to this section that the vehicle was reported as stolen within

two hours after the discovery of the theft by the owner. For purposes of

asserting the defense provided by this subdivision it shall be

sufficient that a certified copy of the police report on the stolen

vehicle be sent by first class mail to the court or other entity having

jurisdiction.

10. An owner who is a lessor of a vehicle to which a notice of

liability was issued pursuant to subdivision seven of this section shall

not be liable for the violation of the toll collection regulation

provided that he or she sends to the public authority serving the notice

of liability and to the court or other entity having jurisdiction a copy

of the rental, lease or other such contract document covering such

vehicle on the date of the violation, with the name and address of the

lessee clearly legible, within thirty days after receiving the original

notice of liability. Failure to send such information within such thirty

day time period shall render the lessor liable for the penalty

prescribed by this section. Where the lessor complies with the

provisions of this subdivision, the lessee of such vehicle on the date

of such violation shall be deemed to be the owner of such vehicle for

purposes of this section and shall be subject to liability for the

violation of toll collection regulations, provided that the public

authority mails a notice of liability to the lessee within ten days

after the court, or other entity having jurisdiction, deems the lessee

to be the owner. For purposes of this subdivision the term "lessor"

shall mean any person, corporation, firm, partnership, agency,

association or organization engaged in the business of renting or

leasing vehicles to any lessee under a rental agreement, lease or

otherwise wherein the said lessee has the exclusive use of said vehicle

for any period of time. For purposes of this subdivision, the term

"lessee" shall mean any person, corporation, firm, partnership, agency,

association or organization that rents, leases or contracts for the use

of one or more vehicles and has exclusive use thereof for any period of

time.

11. Except as provided in subdivision ten of this section, if a person

receives a notice of liability pursuant to this section it shall be a

valid defense to an allegation of liability for a violation of toll

collection regulations that the individual who received the notice of

liability pursuant to this section was not the owner of the vehicle at

the time the violation occurred. If the owner liable for a violation of

toll collection regulations pursuant to this section was not the

operator of the vehicle at the time of the violation, the owner may

maintain an action for indemnification against the operator.

12. "Electronic toll collection system" shall mean a system of

collecting tolls or charges which is capable of charging an account

holder the appropriate toll or charge by transmission of information

from an electronic device on a motor vehicle to the toll lane, which

information is used to charge the account the appropriate toll or

charge. In adopting procedures for the preparation and mailing of a

notice of liability, the public authority having jurisdiction over the

toll facility shall adopt guidelines to ensure adequate and timely

notice to all electronic toll collection system account holders to

inform them when their accounts are delinquent. An owner who is an

account holder under the electronic toll collection system shall not be

found liable for a violation of this section unless such authority has

first sent a notice of delinquency to such account holder and the

account holder was in fact delinquent at the time of the violation.

13. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the liability

of an operator of a vehicle for any violation of toll collection

regulations.

14. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, all photographs,

microphotographs, videotape or other recorded images prepared pursuant

to this section shall be for the exclusive use of a public authority in

the discharge of its duties under this section and shall not be open to

the public nor be used in any court in any action or proceeding pending

therein unless such action or proceeding relates to the imposition of or

indemnification for liability pursuant to this section. The public

authority shall not sell, distribute or make available in any way, the

names and addresses of electronic toll collection system account

holders, without such account holders' consent to any entity that will

use such information for any commercial purpose provided that the

foregoing restriction shall not be deemed to preclude the exchange of

such information between any entities with jurisdiction over and or

operating a toll highway bridge and/or tunnel facility.