Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 13, December 25, 2024
(1)
Commission or presiding officer. The commission or presiding
officer presides at the hearing and may rule on motions and issue such orders
and rulings as will ensure the orderly conduct of the proceedings. The
commission or presiding officer shall maintain the decorum of the hearing and
may refuse to admit, may set limits on, or may expel from the hearing anyone
whose conduct is disorderly.
(2)
Witnesses. Each witness shall be sworn or affirmed by the
commission, presiding officer, or the court reporter and be subject to
examination and cross-examination. The commission or presiding officer may
limit questioning in a manner consistent with law. In appropriate
circumstances, the commission or presiding officer may order that witnesses
testify as members of a witness panel.
(3)
Order of presenting
evidence. The commission or presiding officer shall determine the
order of the presentation of evidence based on applicable law and the interests
of efficiency and justice, taking into account the preferences of the parties.
Normally, the petitioner shall open the presentation of evidence. In cases
where testimony has been prefiled, each witness shall be available for
cross-examination on all testimony prefiled by or on behalf of that witness
when the witness takes the stand, either alone or as a member of a witness
panel.
(4)
Evidence.
a. Subject to
terms and conditions prescribed by the commission or presiding officer, parties
have the right to introduce evidence, cross-examine witnesses, and present
evidence in rebuttal. Ordinarily, prefiled testimony is used in hearings
pursuant to rule 199-7.10 (17A,476).
Nonsubstantive corrections to prefiled testimony may be made at the beginning
of the testimony. However, if more than three corrections need to be made, the
sponsoring party shall file corrected prefiled testimony prior to the hearing.
The sponsoring party must provide one copy of prefiled testimony and included
exhibits to the court reporter.
b.
The commission or presiding officer shall rule on admissibility of evidence and
may, where appropriate, take official notice of facts in accordance with
law.
c. Stipulation of facts is
encouraged. The commission or presiding officer may make a decision based on
stipulated facts.
d. Unless the
exhibit was previously included with prefiled testimony, the party seeking
admission of an exhibit at a hearing must provide opposing parties with an
opportunity to examine the exhibit prior to the ruling on its admissibility.
All exhibits admitted into evidence shall be marked in accordance with the
commission's approved naming convention and made part of the evidentiary
record. If an exhibit is admitted, unless it was previously included with
prefiled testimony, the sponsoring party must provide at least one copy of the
exhibit to each opposing party, one copy for each commission member or
presiding officer, one copy for the witness (if any), one copy for the court
reporter, and two copies for commission staff, unless otherwise ordered. The
sponsoring party shall file the hearing exhibit in the docket in the
commission's electronic filing system within three days of the close of the
hearing.
e. Whenever evidence is
ruled inadmissible, the party offering that evidence may submit an offer of
proof on the record. The party making the offer of proof for excluded oral
testimony shall briefly summarize the testimony or, with the permission of the
commission or presiding officer, present the testimony. The commission or
presiding officer may require the offering party to file a written statement of
the excluded oral testimony. If the excluded evidence consists of a document or
exhibit, it shall be marked as part of an offer of proof and inserted in the
record. Unless previously included with prefiled testimony, the sponsoring
party must provide at least one copy of the document or exhibit to each
opposing party, one copy for each commission member or presiding officer, one
copy for the witness (if any), one copy for the court reporter, and two copies
for commission staff, unless otherwise ordered.
(5)
Objections. Any party
may object to specific evidence or may request limits on the scope of any
examination or cross-examination. All objections shall be timely made on the
record and state the grounds relied on. The commission or presiding officer may
rule on the objection at the time it is made or may reserve a ruling until the
written decision.
(6)
Further evidence. At any stage during or after the hearing,
the commission or presiding officer may order a party to present additional
evidence and may conduct additional proceedings as appropriate.
(7)
Participation at hearings by
nonparties. The commission or presiding officer may permit any person
to be heard at any hearing, but such person shall not be a party to the
proceedings unless so designated. The testimony or statement of any person so
appearing shall be given under oath and such person shall be subject to
cross-examination by parties to the proceeding, unless the commission or
presiding officer orders otherwise. If a person who is not a party to a
proceeding appears at a hearing and requests to examine or cross-examine
witnesses, the commission or presiding officer may grant the person
intervention in the proceeding as a party for the limited purpose requested by
the person and in compliance with subrule 7.4(8).
(8)
Briefs.
a. Unless waived by the parties with the
consent of the commission or presiding officer, the commission or presiding
officer shall set times for the filing and service of briefs. Unless otherwise
ordered by the commission or presiding officer, initial briefs shall be filed
simultaneously by all parties and reply briefs shall be filed
simultaneously.
b. Initial briefs
shall contain a concise statement of the case. Arguments based on evidence
introduced during the proceeding shall specify the portions of the record where
the evidence is found. Initial briefs shall include all arguments the party
intends to offer in support of its case and against the record case of the
adverse party or parties. Unless otherwise ordered, a reply brief shall be
confined to refuting arguments made in the brief of an adverse party. Unless
specifically ordered to brief an issue, a party's failure to address an issue
by brief shall not be deemed a waiver of that issue and shall not preclude the
commission or presiding officer from deciding the issue on the basis of
evidence appearing in the record.
c. Every brief of more than 20 pages shall
contain on its front leaves a table of contents with page references. Each
party's initial brief shall not exceed 90 pages and each subsequent brief shall
not exceed 40 pages, exclusive of the table of contents, unless otherwise
ordered. Such orders may be issued ex parte. A brief that exceeds these page
limits shall be deemed a defective filing and may be rejected as provided in
subrule 7.4(5).
d. Briefs shall
comply with the following requirements.
(1)
The size of pages shall be 81/2 by 11 inches.
(2) All printed matter must appear in at
least 11-point type.
(3) There
shall be margins of at least one inch on the top, bottom, right, and left sides
of the sheet.
(4) The body of the
brief shall be double-spaced.
(5)
Footnotes may be single-spaced but shall not exceed one-half page in
length.
(6) The printed matter may
appear in any pitch, as long as the characters are spaced in a readable manner.
Any readable font is acceptable.
(7) Briefs filed electronically shall comply
with the requirements in this paragraph and the standards for electronic
information available on the commission's website or in the commission's
records and information center.
(9)
Oral arguments. The
commission or presiding officer may set a time for oral argument to address
issues raised by the parties during the proceeding or at the conclusion of the
hearing or may set a separate date and time for oral argument. The commission
or presiding officer may set a time limit for argument. Oral argument may be
either in addition to or in lieu of briefs. Unless specifically ordered to
argue an issue, a party's failure to address an issue in oral argument shall
not be deemed a waiver of the issue.
(10)
Record. The record of
the case is maintained in the commission's electronic filing system. Unless the
record is held confidential pursuant to
199-1.9 (22), parties and
members of the public may examine the record and obtain copies of documents,
including the transcript, when available.
(11)
Default.
a. If a party fails to appear at a hearing
after proper service of notice, or fails to answer or otherwise respond to an
appropriate pleading directed to and properly served upon that party, the
commission or presiding officer may, if no adjournment is granted, enter a
default decision or proceed with the hearing and render a decision in the
absence of the party.
b. Default
decisions or decisions rendered on the merits after a party has failed to
appear at a hearing constitute final agency action unless otherwise ordered by
the commission or presiding officer. However, within 15 days after the date of
electronic notification or mailing of the decision, a motion to vacate may be
filed with the commission. The motion to vacate must state all facts relied on
by the moving party that show good cause existed for that party's failure to
appear at the hearing or answer or otherwise respond to an appropriate pleading
directed to and properly served upon that party. The stated facts must be
substantiated by affidavit attached to the motion. Unless otherwise ordered,
adverse parties shall have ten days to respond to a motion to vacate. If the
decision is rendered by a presiding officer, the commission may review it on
the commission's own motion within 15 days after the date of notification or
mailing of the decision.
c. The
time for appeal of a decision for which a timely motion to vacate has been
filed is stayed pending a decision on the motion to vacate.
d. Properly substantiated and timely filed
motions to vacate shall be granted for good cause shown. The burden of proof as
to good cause is on the moving party. "Good cause" for purposes of this rule
shall have the same meaning as "good cause" for setting aside a default
judgment under Iowa Rule of Civil Procedure 1.977.
e. A presiding officer's decision denying a
motion to vacate is subject to further appeal within the time limit allowed for
further appeal of a decision on the merits in the contested case. A presiding
officer's decision granting a motion to vacate is subject to interlocutory
appeal by the adverse party pursuant to rule
199-7.25 (17A,476).
f. If a motion to vacate is granted and no
timely interlocutory appeal has been taken, the commission or presiding officer
shall schedule another hearing and the contested case shall proceed
accordingly.
g. A default decision
may award any relief consistent with the record in the case. The default
decision may provide either that the default decision is to be stayed pending a
timely motion to vacate or that the default decision is to take effect
immediately, subject to a timely motion to vacate, an appeal pursuant to rule
199-7.26 (17A,476), or a request
for stay pursuant to rule
199-7.28
(17A,476).