N.Y. Vehicle & Traffic Law § 239: Ownership and operation of vehicles; liability

§ 239. Ownership and operation of vehicles; liability. 1. Definitions.

Whenever used in this article, the following terms shall have the

following meanings:

a. "Owner" means any person, corporation, partnership, firm, agency,

association, lessor, or organization who at the time of the issuance of

a notice of violation in any city in which a vehicle is operated:

(1) is the beneficial or equitable owner of such vehicle; or

(2) has title to such vehicle; or

(3) 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

(4) uses such vehicle in its vehicle renting and/or leasing business;

or

(5) is an owner of such vehicle as defined by section one hundred

twenty-eight of this chapter or subdivision (a) of section twenty-one

hundred one of this chapter.

b. "Lessor" means any person, corporation, firm, partnership, agency,

association or organization engaged in the business of renting or

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

or otherwise, wherein the said lessee or bailee has the exclusive use of

said vehicle for any period of time.

c. "Lessee" means any person, corporation, firm, partnership, agency,

association or organization that rents, bails, leases or contracts for

the use of one or more vehicles and has the exclusive use thereof for

any period of time.

d. "Vehicle" means a vehicle as defined in section one hundred

fifty-nine of this chapter.

e. "Operator" means any person, corporation, firm, partnership,

agency, association, organization or lessee that uses or operates a

vehicle with or without the permission of the owner, and an owner who

operates his own vehicle.

f. "Notice of violation" means a notice of violation as defined in

subdivision nine of section two hundred thirty-seven of this article,

but shall not be deemed to include a notice of liability issued pursuant

to authorization set forth in articles ten, twenty-four, twenty-nine and

thirty of this chapter, section two thousand nine hundred eighty-five of

the public authorities law and sections sixteen-a, sixteen-b and

sixteen-c of chapter seven hundred seventy-four of the laws of nineteen

hundred fifty to impose monetary liability on the owner of a vehicle for

failure of an operator thereof: to comply with traffic-control

indications in violation of subdivision (d) of section eleven hundred

eleven of this chapter through the installation and operation of

traffic-control signal photo violation-monitoring systems, in accordance

with article twenty-four of this chapter; or to comply with certain

posted maximum speed limits in violation of subdivision (b), (c), (d),

(f) or (g) of section eleven hundred eighty of this chapter through the

installation and operation of photo speed violation monitoring systems,

in accordance with article thirty of this chapter; or to comply with bus

lane restrictions as defined by article twenty-four of this chapter

through the installation and operation of bus lane photo devices, in

accordance with article twenty-four of this chapter; or to comply with

toll collection regulations of certain public authorities through the

installation and operation of photo-monitoring systems, in accordance

with the provisions of section two thousand nine hundred eighty-five of

the public authorities law and sections sixteen-a, sixteen-b and

sixteen-c of chapter seven hundred seventy-four of the laws of nineteen

hundred fifty; or to stop for a school bus displaying a red visual

signal in violation of section eleven hundred seventy-four of this

chapter through the installation and operation of school bus photo

violation monitoring systems, in accordance with article twenty-nine of

this chapter; or to comply with certain posted maximum speed limits in

violation of subdivision (b), (d), (f) or (g) of section eleven hundred

eighty of this chapter within a highway construction or maintenance work

area through the installation and operation of photo speed violation

monitoring systems, in accordance with article thirty of this chapter;

or to comply with gross vehicle weight and/or axle weight restrictions

in violation of section three hundred eighty-five of this chapter and

the rules of the applicable covered agency or covered authority as such

terms are defined in article ten of this chapter through the

installation and operation of weigh in motion violation monitoring

systems, in accordance with article ten of this chapter; or to comply

with bus operation-related traffic regulations as defined by article

twenty-four of this chapter in violation of the rules of the department

of transportation of the city of New York through the installation and

operation of bus operation-related photo devices, in accordance with

article twenty-four of this chapter.

g. "Fiscal year" means a period of one year commencing on the first

day of July and terminating on the thirtieth day of June.

h. "Primary filing" means the initial filing of registration plate

numbers by a lessor prior to the commencement of each fiscal year.

2. Liability. a. The operator of a vehicle shall be liable for the

fines or penalties imposed pursuant to this article. Except as otherwise

provided in paragraphs b and e of this subdivision, the owner of the

vehicle, even if not the operator thereof, shall be jointly and

severally liable with the operator thereof, if such vehicle was used or

operated with the permission of the owner, express or implied, but in

such case the owner may recover any fine or penalties paid by him from

the operator.

b. The lessor of a motor vehicle shall not be liable for fines or

penalties imposed pursuant to this article if:

(1) prior to the infraction, the lessor has filed with the bureau the

registration plate number, plate type, and place of registration of the

vehicle to which the notice of violation was issued and paid the

required filing fee provided in paragraph f of this subdivision and,

(2) within thirty-seven days after receiving notice from the bureau of

the date and time of a violation, together with the other information

contained in the original notice of violation, the lessor submits to the

bureau the correct name and address of the lessee of the vehicle

identified in the notice of violation at the time of such violation,

together with such other additional information contained in the rental,

lease or other contract document, as may be reasonably required by the

bureau pursuant to regulations that may be promulgated for such purpose.

c. If the lessor has complied with subparagraph one of paragraph b of

this subdivision such lessor shall not be liable for any penalties in

excess of the scheduled fine unless such lessor fails to appear within

thirty-seven days of actual receipt of a notice of violation pursuant to

paragraph e of this subdivision.

d. If the lessor who has complied with subparagraph one of paragraph b

of this subdivision has paid any fine or penalty for which he is liable

and the bureau subsequently collects from the operator or lessee the

amount of the scheduled fine and penalty owed by such person, or any

portion thereof, the lessor shall be entitled to reimbursement from the

bureau of the amount of the fine and penalty paid by the lessor, less

the bureau's costs of collection.

e. The lessor shall not be liable for any fines or penalties in

connection with a notice of violation for a vehicle whose registration

plate number is filed and the fee therefor paid prior to the time of the

issuance of notice of violation, unless the lessor shall receive notice

from the bureau of the date and time of such violation, together with

the other information contained in the original notice of violation,

within ninety days after service of the notice of violation, in

accordance with subdivision two of section two hundred thirty-eight of

this article.

f. The annual fee for filing a registration plate number with the

bureau by lessors under this section shall be twelve dollars per fiscal

year. Lessors shall also provide the bureau with such other additional

information in such format as the bureau by regulation may reasonably

require. The registration plate number shall not be considered filed

with the bureau unless the annual filing fee provided for in this

subdivision shall have been paid. Lessors shall not be entitled to a

refund, reduction, credit or other consideration in connection with such

annual filing fee in the event that such registration plate number is

withdrawn from service, destroyed or surrendered during the fiscal year

for which such registration plate number shall have been filed. In the

event that a lessor files with the bureau registration plate numbers

during the fiscal year, the annual filing fee for same shall be prorated

on a monthly basis, in accordance with a schedule that the bureau shall

promulgate by regulation for such purpose. The primary filing by each

lessor for each fiscal year shall be made at least thirty days prior to

the commencement of the fiscal year.

g. Where the United States postal authorities return to the bureau a

delinquency notice forwarded by the bureau to a name and address of a

lessee furnished by a lessor in accordance with provisions of this

section, such return notice shall be presumptive evidence of the

furnishing of an incorrect name and address by the lessor. The lessor

may, however, conclusively rebut such presumption if within sixty days

after receiving notification from the bureau of such returned mail

notice, the lessor shall provide to the bureau a copy of the rental

agreement or lease agreement for such lessee containing the name and

address previously furnished to the bureau. In the event that a lessor

shall fail to rebut the presumption established by this subdivision, the

lessor shall be liable for the fines imposed pursuant to this article

and in accordance with the rules and regulations promulgated by the

bureau.

h. The bureau shall by rules and regulations prescribe the manner and

method of giving notice of outstanding violations to the lessees, except

that notices of impending default judgment shall be forwarded by first

class mail, in accordance with subdivision two of section two hundred

forty-one of this article. All notices to lessors under this section

shall be by first class mail to the address on file with the bureau or

by such other means as shall be provided for in the rules and

regulations of the bureau.

i. A lessor shall cooperate with the bureau in the enforcement of

judgments rendered against lessees or providing the bureau, or its

designated agents, with such other additional information as shall be

contained in such lessor's rental or lease agreements with their lessees

as shall be available to them.

3. Stolen vehicles. If any owner of a motor vehicle receives a notice

of violation for a period during which the illegally parked vehicle was

reported to any police department as having been stolen, it shall be a

valid defense to any charge of a parking violation that the motor

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

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

purposes of asserting the defense provided by this subdivision, it shall

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

vehicle be mailed to the bureau.

* 4. Applicability. The provisions of paragraph b of subdivision two

and subdivision three of this section shall not be applicable to

determinations of owner liability for the failure of an operator to

comply with subdivision (d) of section eleven hundred eleven of this

chapter and shall not be applicable to determinations of owner liability

imposed pursuant to section two thousand nine hundred eighty-five of the

public authorities law and sections sixteen-a, sixteen-b and sixteen-c

of chapter seven hundred seventy-four of the laws of nineteen hundred

fifty and shall not be applicable to determinations of owner liability

for the failure of an operator to comply with subdivision (b), (c), (d),

(f) or (g) of section eleven hundred eighty of this chapter.

* NB Effective until July 1, 2030

* 4. Applicability. The provisions of paragraph b of subdivision two

and subdivision three of this section shall not be applicable to

determinations of owner liability for the failure of an operator to

comply with subdivision (d) of section eleven hundred eleven of this

chapter and shall not be applicable to determinations of owner liability

imposed pursuant to section two thousand nine hundred eighty-five of the

public authorities law and sections sixteen-a, sixteen-b and sixteen-c

of chapter seven hundred seventy-four of the laws of nineteen hundred

fifty.

* NB Effective July 1, 2030