Two-Year Limit Applies to Back Billing

Facts : Landlord cooperative housing development had a City-owned park within its housing complex. For four years, the City sent landlord's water and sewer bills for the building complex to the Parks Department. In 1997, DEP caught the error and billed landlord for the back charges. Landlord claimed it couldn't be billed for back charges going back more than two years. Court: Landlord wins. A two-year back billing limit was added to the rate schedule for water and sewer charges effective July 1, 1997. The City claimed the two-year limit didn't apply to a situation in which the City actually sent out bills but to the wrong place. It argued that the two-year limit applied only if the Water Board never sent a bill to anyone. The court found that under the regulation, a residential customer, including landlord, who hadn't previously gotten a bill, was entitled to the two-year limit on the back billing.

Mutual Redevelopment Houses v. New York City Water Board: NYLJ, p. 27, col. 3 (6/23/99) (Sup. Ct. NY; Omansky, J)