Please enjoy the latest edition of Short Circuit, a weekly feature written by a bunch of people at the Institute for Justice.
New cert petition: In 2015, NYC purportedly issued a citation to IJ client Serafim Katergaris for a code violation (a missing boiler inspection report) committed by the prior owner of his house in Harlem, a violation that did not show up in the title search. Serafim would like to argue that the city's code-enforcement system, which makes it impossible to challenge fines like his, violates due process. But he never received the 2015 citation and didn't find out about it until years later—too late to sue, according to the Second Circuit. In a holding that departs from other circuits, the court treated the federal common law "mailbox rule" not so much as a rebuttable presumption of receipt but as an ironclad one. We're asking SCOTUS to bring harmony back to the circuits.
New on the Short Circuit podcast: Sixth Circuit dissental drama.
