Got a hearing date from OATH? Don't walk in alone — and don't ignore it either. We represent property owners at OATH hearings for DOB and other agency violations: we review the summons, build the mitigation case, appear for you, and handle whatever cure and filings the outcome requires.
When a city agency issues a violation, the summons often comes with an OATH hearing date. At the hearing, an administrative law judge decides the penalty — and in many cases, whether the violation can be dismissed or mitigated. Owners who show up unprepared, or who don't show up at all, routinely pay the maximum. A prepared representative with cure evidence and a mitigation argument regularly walks out with a far better result. Missing the hearing entirely is the worst option: it leads to a default decision against you.
Here's what most hearing reps can't offer: proof the problem is fixed, from the company that fixed it. When we tell a judge the condition was cured, we bring dated photos, the scope of work, and the crew's firsthand account — because our side of the business did the work. That credibility matters. And when the judge's decision requires corrective work as a condition, there's no scramble to find a contractor: we line up the corrective work and file the dismissal paperwork ourselves. See DOB violation removal for the full cure-to-clearance process.
Some summonses arrive with a stipulation offer — admit the violation, pay a reduced penalty, and skip the hearing. Sometimes that's the smart move; sometimes fighting gets you a better outcome. We'll tell you which one your case is, free, before you decide. A stipulation still leaves the violation open on the record until the cure is filed — so either path ends with the corrective work and the Certificate of Correction.
You get a default decision — usually the maximum penalty, with no chance to argue mitigation. If you've already missed one, call us right away: there are limited options to reopen a default, but the clock is short.
No. OATH allows non-attorney representatives, and most violation hearings are decided on the facts and the cure evidence — not legal technicalities. What wins is preparation and proof.
Often, yes — judges have discretion to mitigate penalties based on the circumstances, your compliance history, and whether the condition was corrected. That's exactly what we argue.
Not automatically. The hearing decides the penalty; the violation still needs a Certificate of Correction with proof of cure to come off the record. We handle both.
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Related services: DOB violation removal · Certificate of Correction filing · Stop work order removal