Parking Ticket?

[wilson1010]

Sec. 515-4. Parking ticket, service and liability.
(a) The parking ticket adopted in Section 515-10 hereof shall be used by law enforcement officers or parking enforcement officers in all cases in which a person is charged with committing a parking infraction within the City of Cincinnati. The parking ticket shall be the summons and complaint for purposes of this Chapter.
(b) A law enforcement officer or parking enforcement officer who issues a parking ticket for a parking infraction shall complete the ticket by identifying the parking infraction charged, recording the license plate number, type, and make or model of the vehicle, and indicating the date, time, and place of the parking infraction charged. The officer shall sign the ticket and affirm the facts it contains and file a copy with the Violations Clerk. The officer may either physically or electronically sign the ticket. A copy of the ticket may be filed electronically with the Violations Clerk. If the operator of the vehicle is present, the officer also shall record on the ticket the name of the operator in a space provided on the ticket for identification of the offender, and then shall personally serve the parking ticket upon the operator. If the operator of the vehicle is not present, the officer shall insert the word "owner" in the space provided on the ticket for identification of the offender, and then shall constructively serve the parking ticket upon the owner of the vehicle by affixing the ticket to the vehicle in a conspicuous place.
Constructive service of a parking ticket upon an owner of a vehicle by affixation as provided in this Section, or by the procedure described in paragraph (d) of this Section, has the same force and effect, and potentially subjects both the owner and the operator of the vehicle whose act or omission resulted in the parking infraction, if different, to the same fine, penalties, fees and costs for failure to timely answer or to appear if a hearing is requested, as if the parking ticket were personally served on both the owner and operator of the vehicle at the time of the violation.
(c) The original of a parking ticket issued pursuant to this Section or any true copy of it, shall be considered a record kept in the ordinary course of business of the City of Cincinnati and of the law enforcement agency whose officer issued it, and shall be prima facie evidence of the facts it contains. A true copy of a parking ticket includes an electronic copy of the ticket.
(d) An operator of a vehicle who is not the owner of the vehicle, but who operates it with the express or implied permission of the owner is the agent of the owner for purposes of the receipt of parking tickets served in accordance with this Section, and personal service of a parking ticket upon the operator in accordance with this Section constitutes constructive service upon the owner for purposes of this Chapter. The operator of a rented or leased vehicle whose act or omission resulted in an alleged parking infraction shall not be considered an agent of the owner if the owner is engaged in the business of renting or leasing vehicles pursuant to a written rental or lease agreement and if the owner follows the procedures set forth in Section 515-8 hereof.
(e) Except as provided is Section 515-8 hereof, when a parking ticket is issued for a parking infraction and is served pursuant to this Section, the operator of the vehicle whose act or omission resulted in the parking infraction for which the ticket was issued and the owner of the vehicle involved in the parking infraction, if different, are jointly liable for the parking infraction and any fine, penalty, fees and costs arising out of the parking infraction. Any owner of a vehicle who pays any fine, penalty, fee and cost imposed for a parking infraction pursuant to this Chapter may recover the amount paid from the operator of the vehicle whose act or omission resulted in the parking infraction.
(Ordained by Ord. No. 422-1992, eff. Sept. 16, 1992; Emer. Ord. No. 53-2005, eff. Feb. 16, 2005; Emer. Ord. No. 0069-2007, § 1, eff. Feb. 22, 2007)


Sec. 515-8. Nonliability of owner.
(a) An owner of a vehicle is not jointly liable with an operator of the vehicle whose act or omission resulted in a parking infraction for the parking infraction or any fine, penalty, fee, or cost arising out of the parking infraction under this Chapter if either of the following apply:
(1) The owner answers the charge of the parking infraction under Sections 515-5 or 515-6 hereof, the answer denies that he committed the infraction and requests a hearing concerning the infraction, the owner additionally asserts and provides reasonable evidence at that time to prove that the vehicle, at the time of the commission of the parking infraction, was being used by the operator without the owner's express or implied consent, and the Parking Violations Bureau determines that the vehicle was being used without the owner's express or implied consent at that time. If the Parking Violations Bureau does not so determine, it shall conduct the hearing concerning the infraction according to Section 515-7 hereof.
(2) The owner answers the charge of the parking infraction under Sections 515-5 or 515-6 hereof, the answer denies that he committed the parking infraction, the owner additionally submits evidence at that time that proves that, at the time of the alleged commission of the infraction, the owner was engaged in the business of renting or leasing vehicles under written rental or lease agreements, and the owner additionally submits evidence that proves that, at the time of the alleged commission of the parking infraction, the vehicle in question was in the care, custody, or control of a person other than the owner pursuant to a written rental or lease agreement. If the owner does not so prove, the Parking Violations Bureau shall conduct a hearing relative to the infraction according to Section 515-7 hereof.
(3) The owner, at a hearing concerning the parking infraction conducted in accordance with Section 515-7 hereof, proves that the vehicle, at the time of the parking infraction, was being used by the operator without the owner's express or implied consent or proves the facts described in Division (a)(2) of this Section.
(b) An owner of a vehicle who is engaged in the business of renting or leasing vehicles under written rental or lease agreements, but who does not satisfy the additional requirements of Division (a)(2) of this Section is not liable for any penalties arising out of a parking infraction involving the vehicle if at the time of the commission of the parking infraction, the vehicle was in the care, custody, or control of a person other than the owner pursuant to a written rental or lease agreement, and if the owner answers the charge of the parking infraction by denying that he committed the parking infraction or by paying the fine arising out of the parking infraction within thirty (30) days after actual receipt of the parking ticket charging the infraction or, if the owner did not receive the parking ticket, within thirty (30) days after receipt of notification of infraction.
Proof that the vehicle was in the care, custody, or control of a person other than the owner pursuant to a written rental or lease agreement at the time of the alleged parking infraction shall be established by sending a true copy of the rental or lease agreement or an affidavit to that effect to the Parking Violations Bureau within thirty (30) days after the date of receipt by the owner of the parking ticket charging the infraction or, if the owner did not receive the parking ticket, within thirty (30) days after receipt of the notification of infraction. The submission of a true copy of a written rental or lease agreement or affidavit shall be prima facie evidence that a vehicle was in the care, custody, or control of a person other than the owner. In addition, any information required by Division (a)(2) of this Section may be provided on magnetic tape or another computer readable media in a format acceptable to the City of Cincinnati or the Violations Clerk.
(Ordained by Ord. No. 422-1992, eff. Sept. 16, 1992)