NY Veh & Traf L § 239 (2021)
2021 New York Laws VAT - Vehicle and Traffic Title 2 - Department of Motor Vehicles; Commissioner Article 2-B - Adjudication of Parking Infractions 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 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.   * NB There are 2 par f's   * 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  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.   * NB There are 2 par f's   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 December 1, 2024   * 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  (b),  (c),  (d), (f) or (g) of section eleven hundred eighty of this chapter.   * NB Effective December 1, 2024 until July 1, 2022