Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration March 21, 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On March 4, 2004, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) published its Guidance for the use of binding arbitration in Agency civil penalty forfeiture proceedings in which the only issues remaining to be resolved are the amount of the civil penalty owed and the length of time in which to pay it. The Guidance provides that FMCSA use a form of arbitration known as ``Night Baseball,'' under which each party gives to the Arbitrator its proposal for the civil penalty in a sealed envelope. After the Arbitrator makes a written determination as to what he or she believes the civil penalty should be, the envelopes are opened. The Arbitrator then selects the proposed civil penalty that is closer to his or her determination. FMCSA is proposing to revise the Guidance to eliminate the ``Night Baseball'' format, and to replace it with a format in which the Arbitrator determines the final civil penalty and the amount of time in which to pay it.