Landlord's Court Appeal of Default Judgment by OATH Dismissed as Untimely

DOB issued a violation notice to landlord for failing to maintain its building wall. The NYC Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH) issued a default judgment against landlord for failing to appear at a hearing. Landlord then asked OATH to vacate the default judgment. OATH refused and, after a second request, landlord then filed an Article 78 court proceeding to challenge OATH's decision. Landlord claimed exceptional circumstances and that OATH had vacated defaults in similar cases involving other owners. The court found that OATH's 2021 ruling constituted a "final determination" and that landlord failed to file its Article 78 petition within the statutory time limit for doing so. So the court couldn't find that OATH's ruling was arbitrary, capricious, or lacked a rational basis.

Matter of 3680 Broadway Equities Inc. v. City of New York: Index No. 153519/2023, 3034 NY Slip Op 30085(U), NYLJ No. 1705564423 (Sup. Ct. NY; 1/8/24; Ally, J)