Property owners who fail to comply with the abatement notice are cited via civil warrant to appear in court. If a property owner has been issued an abate notice or has been cited to Environmental court for a violation and the same violation is reported again, this violation is considered a “Repeat Violation.” The Codes department will not send the property owner any notice but will immediately request a civil warrant to Environmental court.
Defendants are required to come to environmental court, even if the violations have been corrected prior to their court date. If an emergency situation occurs that prevents a defendant from meeting their court date, they should notify the courts (General Sessions Court Clerk) as soon as possible.
Environmental Court cases are heard at the Justice A. A. Birch Building in courtroom 5D each Wednesday at 1 p.m. The court date and time is printed on the warrant.
Defendants found guilty of violations of the Metro Code of Laws are liable for court costs and can be subject to fines of $50 per day for every day the property remains in violation. The court may also order the defendant to spend time in jail for a maximum of ten days.
Note: Once a warrant has been served, the defendant is responsible for all costs, including any fines. The Codes Department cannot waive court costs or assessed fines or release any liens assessed by the courts to recover these costs.