Bernstein Management Corp. v. District of Columbia Rental Housing Commission, 952 A.2d 190 (2008)

Citation: Bernstein Management Corp. v. District of Columbia Rental Housing Commission, 952 A.2d 190 (2008)
Parent Document: Bernstein Management Corp. v. District of Columbia Rental Housing Commission, 952 A.2d 190 (2008)
Jurisdiction: DC (municipal)
Effective Date: 2008-07-10
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/5143675/bernstein-management-corp-v-dis... ↗

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In F.W. Woolworth Co., the DCRA imposed a civil fine for operating a vending machine without a license. See id. at 714. This court decided that although the DCRA had authority to impose civil fines, because no fine for a violation of that kind was included in the schedule of fines issued pursuant to the Civil Infractions Act, see D.C.Code § 2-1801.04, the DCRA had no statutory basis for imposing that specific fine. See F.W. Woolworth Co., 579 A.2d at 719. At no point, however, did we state that DCRA was the only agency in the District with authority to impose civil fines. Indeed, in footnote six, the portion of the opinion on which petitioner relies, we quoted the language of D.C.Code § 2-1801.01, which indicates that the purpose of the Civil Infractions Act is to provide for the “imposition of alternative civil sanctions,” not to replace existing authority to impose such sanctions. See F.W. Woolworth Co., 579 A.2d at 717 n. 6 (emphasis added). Thus, the language of the statute is clear that the legislature’s intent in enacting the Civil Infractions Act was not to empower the DCRA with an exclusive remedy, but with an alternative one.

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