Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 6, March 15, 2024
PURPOSE: This amendment clarifies that an answer in a
case filed under section
162.961,
RSMo, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is due within ten (10)
days after receipt of the complaint.
(1) The respondent shall file an answer in
all cases except those arising pursuant to sections
36.280,
36.370,
36.380,
and 36.390, RSMo, in which case respondent may, but is not required to, file an
answer, unless the commission orders that an answer be filed.
(2) An answer to the complaint shall-
(A) Be in writing;
(B) Admit those portions of the complaint
which the respondent believes are true and deny those portions that the
respondent believes are not true and state that the respondent is without
sufficient knowledge to admit or deny the portions not admitted or
denied;
(C) Assert as a defense any
specific failure of the complaint to comply with
1 CSR 15-3.350 or
waive that defense by not asserting it;
(D) Be signed by the respondent or the
respondent's attorney; and
(E) When
the petitioner seeks review of respondent's action, include-
1. Allegations of any facts on which the
respondent bases the action, with sufficient specificity to enable the
petitioner to address such allegations;
2. Any provision of law that allows the
respondent to base the action on such facts;
3. A copy of any written notice of the action
of which petitioner seeks review, unless such written notice was included in
the complaint; and
4. Facts that
show that the respondent has complied with any provisions of law requiring the
respondent to notify the petitioner of the action that petitioner is
appealing.
(3) The respondent shall file any responsive
pleading within the following times-
(A)
Thirty (30) days after service of the notice of complaint, except when service
is by certified mail or publication.
(B) When service is by certified mail, within
thirty (30) days after acknowledgment of receipt of the notice of complaint or
return certified mail receipt is filed in the case.
(C) When service is by publication, within
forty-five (45) days of the first publication of notice.
(D) For cases filed under section
162.961,
RSMo, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), except as provided in
34 CFR
300.508(e), within ten (10)
days of receiving the due process complaint.
(4) The filing of a responsive pleading,
other than an answer, that requests the commission to take some action shall
increase the time in which the respondent shall file an answer, as set by
section (3) of this rule, as follows, unless the commission orders otherwise.
In any case, the time allowed for filing an answer shall be no less than the
time that remained when the responsive pleading was filed.
(A) If the commission denies the request, the
respondent shall file the answer no later than ten (10) days after the
commission so orders;
(B) If the
commission issues an order postponing its ruling on the request until hearing,
the respondent shall file the answer no later than ten (10) days after the
commission so orders;
(C) If the
commission issues an order granting the request, but the order does not dispose
of the entire complaint, respondent shall file the answer no later than ten
(10) days after the commission so orders; and
(D) If the commission orders petitioner to
amend the complaint, the respondent shall file the answer no later than ten
(10) days after service of the amended complaint.
(5) Except by leave of the commission, the
respondent shall file an answer to an amended complaint within the latest of-
(A) Ten (10) days after service of the
amended complaint; or
(B) The time
remaining for filing answer to the original complaint; or
(C) Ten (10) days after the date of an order
granting leave to file the amended complaint.
(6) Otherwise, the respondent shall amend the
answer only with the commission's leave.
(7) Failure to File.
(A) The commission, on its own motion or that
of any party, may order a remedy for respondent's failure to file an answer or
other responsive pleading, or failure to otherwise comply with this rule, as
set forth at rule
1 CSR
15-3.425.
(B) Except in cases under section
36.280,
36.370,
36.380,
36.390, 407.822.1, or 407.1031.1, RSMo, petitioner shall file the motion not
fewer than thirty (30) days before the hearing on the complaint or the motion
shall be waived. In cases under section 407.822.1 or
407.1031.1,
RSMo, petitioner shall file a motion for a remedy only with the commission's
leave and pursuant to a schedule ordered by the commission.
(C) In addition to the remedies set forth in
rule
1 CSR 15-3.425,
remedies under this section may include an order that respondent is deemed to
have-
1. Admitted the facts pleaded in the
complaint;
2. Waived any defense to
the complaint; and
3. Defaulted on
any issue raised in the complaint.
(D) The commission may dispose of any issue
on which it deems respondent to have defaulted. The commission shall determine
the appropriate remedy based on the facts of the case. Respondent's failure to
file an answer or other responsive pleading or otherwise comply with this rule
shall not constitute the admission of any facts or entitle petitioner to the
relief requested in the complaint unless the commission so orders.
(E) In cases in which a default decision has
been entered under section 621.045.6, RSMo, the commission may set aside the
default when respondent files a motion to set aside the default decision within
thirty (30) days after entry of the default, stating facts constituting a
meritorious defense and good cause for not having filed an answer or other
responsive pleading.
*Original authority: 621.035, RSMo 1978 and 621.198, RSMo
1965, amended 1978, 2001.
