YOUR RIGHTS IN NEW YORK CITY
T AXI LIMOUSINE COMMISSION COURTThis Article is for information purposes only. Nothing herein is legal advice. For legal advice please consult the attorney author by calling him at 866-LAWMIKE.
Drivers should know about a set of laws that should be useful to them in fighting a case at TLC court. Chapter 45 of the New York City Charter contains a series of laws called the “City Administrative Procedure Act” (CAPA for short). These rules apply to City agencies such as our favorite, the Taxi and Limousine Commission, and they set minimum ground work for how rules are passed by and agency and how hearings are conducted by an agency.
In this column, I want to talk about Section 1046 of CAPA. It applies to hearings held by agencies and it provides minimum standards by which agencies must conduct hearings. A careful review of the section reveals that TLC is NOT conducting hearings according to CAPA and I am urging drivers to assert their rights and to demand that TLC follow the basic rules of this City when they conduct hearings at TLC tribunals and Long Island City, Rector Street and JFK.
Section 1046 reads in relevant part, “At the hearing parties shall be afforded due process of law,including the opportunity to be represented by counsel, to issue subpoenas or request that a subpoena be issued, to call witnesses, to crossexamine opposing witnesses and to present oral and written arguments on the law and facts.” (Emphasis supplied.)
What does this mean for drivers? I urge drivers to tell judges that they want an adjournment in order to call witnesses such as passengers in the cab at the time of a summons or a customer complaint or friends who may have knowledge of a driver’s whereabouts etc. Basically, a driver has an absolute right to have witnesses of his own attend the hearing at TLC. How many times have you seen a driver bring a witness to TLC court? Almost never. In fact, probably the answer is it has never been done.
Of special note about section 1046 is the provision that allows for subpoena power to the driver or the driver’s lawyer. Section 1046 is clear that the driver or owner of a medallion has the absolute right to request that a TLC inspector turn over his or her notes for cross examination or to have the same subpoenaed if the inspector has forgotten to bring them to the hearing. Moreover, an owner may subpoena the issuing officer, so Jed Appelbaum or whoever replaced him has to actually come to every hearing and testify in person. No more may TLC issue a summons against a medallion/owner and have the summons itself be the basis of a prosecution without the underlying inspector appearing.
Moreover, if a driver feels that any information in TLC possession or in possession of a third person could be useful to the driver in the driver’s defense at a hearing, the driver may ask the ALJ to issue a subpoena demanding that the information be produced.
In addition, the practice of TLC of conducting affidavit hearings on out of town customer complaints is clearly illegal under section 1046 of CAPA. It is clear that the driver has an unqualified right to cross examine his accuser at any customer complaint hearing. A piece of paper is not cross examinable. The TLC must produce the complainant or the complaint should be tossed out. If the TLC insists on having a hearing on an affidavit, ask the ALJ to subpoena the complaining witness. Or hire an attorney and have the attorney subpoena a witness.
Ask for a subpoena at every hearing. Demand an adjournment to get the documents or persons requested by subpoena. I am sure that TLC judges will act surprised at first and tell you that you don’t have a right to subpoena TLC inspectors or their notes. But, keep it up. Because you do have the right and it is the law of this City. The more drivers start to demand their rights, the more likely it is that the TLC will back down and stop illegal policies. Call me at my law office and I will gladly provide you with a copy of the rules to support your demand for your rights at TLC hearings.
Thank you for reading my column. I hope it has been useful to you.
Michael Spevack, Esq. is a graduate of New York University School of Law. In 1996, after several years as a corporate insolvency attorney with a prominent New York City law firm he opened his own law firm in Long Island City. Among the many corporate legal clients his firm represents, his practice is extremely involved with New York City and State driver DMV,TLC, Bankruptcy, civil and criminal related issues. Since 1996, he has personally represented 10,000 taxi, black car and other for hire vehicle operators in both DMV and NYC Taxi Limousine Commission court. (212) 753-4903.
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