notify: Error: Unable to deliver notification via email

Symptom

Using the email notification utility (notify) to send e-mails to recipients fails with the following error:

notify: Error: Unable to deliver notification via email

1. The above error occurs when using notify to send multiple e-mails to recipients that use Lotus® Notes
   C:\>notify -t -s "Test e-mail using notify" user2@ibm.com,user3@ibm.com test e-mail
   ^Z
   >>> 14:50:36.468 (notify): SMTP Rcvd: 220 mailrelay.ibm.com ESMTP
   endmail 8.12.8/8.12.8; Thu, 5 Oct 2006 14:51:59 -0400
   >>> 14:50:36.468 (notify): SMTP Send: HELO HOST1
   >>> 14:50:36.468 (notify): SMTP Rcvd: 250 mailrelay.ibm.com Hello
   OST1-009034163052.ibm.com [9.1.2.3], pleased to meet you
   >>> 14:50:36.484 (notify): SMTP Send: MAIL FROM:<user@HOST1>
   >>> 14:50:41.546 (notify): SMTP Rcvd: 250 2.1.0 <user@HOST1>... Sender ok
   >>> 14:50:41.546 (notify): SMTP Send: RCPT
   O:<user2@ibm.com,user3@ibm.com>
   >>> 14:50:41.593 (notify): SMTP Rcvd: 553 5.1.3
   user2@ibm.com,user3@ibm.com>... Invalid route address
   >>> 14:50:41.593 (notify): Resp status: want "250" have "553".
   >>> 14:50:41.593 (notify): Resp status: want "251" have "553".
   notify: Error: Wrong SMTP response status: 553 5.1.3
   user2@ibm.com,user3@ibm.com>
   ... Invalid route address.
   notify: Warning: Recipient "user1@ibm.com,user1@ibm.com" not accepted.
   notify: Error: No acceptable email recipients.
   >>> 14:50:41.609 (notify): SMTP Send: RSET
   >>> 14:50:41.625 (notify): SMTP Rcvd: 250 2.0.0 Reset state
   >>> 14:50:41.625 (notify): SMTP Send: QUIT
   >>> 14:50:41.625 (notify): SMTP Rcvd: 221 Closing connection. Good bye.
   notify: Error: Unable to deliver notification via email.
   
   
2. The failure may also occur when sending a message with multiple line as seen below:
   C:>notify.exe -t -s "test email" name@domain.com
   ddd
   ddd
   ^Z
   >>> 15:16:12.498 (notify): SMTP Rcvd: 220-Welcome to RBMTA
   >>> 15:16:12.498 (notify): Resp status: want "220" have "220-Welcome".
   notify: Error: Wrong SMTP response status: 220-Welcome to RBMTA
   .
   >>> 15:16:12.514 (notify): SMTP Send: RSET
   >>> 15:16:12.514 (notify): SMTP Rcvd: 220 ESMTP Postfix RBMTA
   >>> 15:16:12.514 (notify): Resp status: want "250" have "220".
   notify: Error: Wrong SMTP response status: 220 ESMTP Postfix RBMTA
   .
   >>> 15:16:12.514 (notify): SMTP Send: QUIT
   >>> 15:16:12.514 (notify): SMTP Rcvd: 250 Ok
   >>> 15:16:12.529 (notify): Resp status: want "221" have "250".
   notify: Error: Wrong SMTP response status: 250 Ok
   .
   notify: Error: Unable to deliver notification via email.
   
   
3. The user is running scheduled jobs and the albd log is filled with errors such as the following:
   
   albd_log: Error: Unable to deliver notification via email.            
   Albd(6708): Error: Notification failed ""C:\Program                  
   Files\Rational\ClearCase\bin\notify" -l albd_log -k email -s "TART:  
   ClearCase Job Scheduler event JobEndOKWithMsgs" -f "C:                
   \DOCUME~1\CLEARC~1\LOCALS~1\Temp\sched21998" ms_admin": pid 6744 exit
   status 0x1                                                            
   albd_log: Error: SMTP send error: No such file or directory.          
   albd_log: Error: Problems encountered by "C:\Program                  
   Files\Rational\ClearCase\bin\notify(6744)".                          
   albd_log: Error: Unable to connect to SMTP server "<server-ip>":
   Bad file descriptor.                                                  
   albd_log: Error: SMTP send error: No such file or directory.