Tips For Fighting a New York City Truck Ticket (And Other Commercial Tickets)

As a New York City truck ticket lawyer, I have seen many truck companies get into trouble by mis-handling a New York City truck ticket issued to their company. Similarly, companies that are issued commercial tickets (aka “pink tickets”) for such things as fire department violations and environmental violations need to properly respond.

The first thing you should know is that a corporation may not appear in court by an officer, shareholder, officer, manager or other employee. It must appear by an attorney under Criminal Procedure Law Section 600.20. An appearance on behalf of the company by a non-lawyer will result in either a default judgment or (if you are lucky) a new date to retain an attorney.

Failing to answer a New York City truck ticket is a bad mistake to make. If your company is issued one or more New York truck tickets, you must answer. The non-appearance of a corporation (prior to entering a plea) will result in the court entering a default judgment against the corporate defendant and imposing a fine for each ticket. The corporation will be notified of the court’s action by mail, specifying the amount of the fine and scheduled court date for payment. A verbal request to vacate the plea and sentence may be made on the payment date, by the corporation’s attorney.

If the company fails to appear on the payment date, a judgment will be entered and filed with the County Clerk’s office. If a Corporation wishes to satisfy a corporate judgment, it may pay the fine in full or it must engage an attorney to make a motion to vacate the judgment. Motions to vacate a judgment must be done in writing.

Motion Papers to vacate a judgment and set aside a sentence must be filed in the Summons Part Clerk’s Office and served upon the People as follows:

Building and Fire Departments cases:
Corporation Council City of New York
100 Church Street
New York, NY 10007

DEC officer cases:
Department Of Environmental Control
120 Broadway, 24th Floor
New York, NY 10271

All other cases:
Queens District Attorney
125-01 Queens Blvd.
Kew Gardens, NY 11415

New York City truck tickets can be very expensive and some are even considered criminal in nature. It is therefore that you consult with a New York truck lawyer to avoid entry of a default judgment against your company and to get advice as to how to minimize the penalties.