001.05(A)
PREHEARING CONFERENCES AND ORDERS. A hearing officer
designated to conduct a hearing may determine, subject to the Commission's
rules and regulations, whether a prehearing conference will be conducted. If a
prehearing conference is not held, a hearing officer for the hearing may issue
a prehearing order, based on the pleadings, to regulate the conduct of the
proceedings.
001.05(A)(i) If a prehearing
conference is conducted:
001.05(A)(i)(1) The
hearing officer must promptly notify the Commission of the determination that a
prehearing conference will be conducted. The Commissioner may assign another
hearing officer for the prehearing conference; and
001.05(A)(i)(2) The hearing officer for the
prehearing conference will set the time and place of the conference and give
reasonable written notice to all parties and to all persons who have filed
written petitions to intervene in the matter. The Commission must give notice
to other persons entitled to notice.
001.05(A)(i)(3) The notice referred to in
subsection 001.05(A)(i)(2) must include the following:
001.05(A)(i)(3)(a) The names and mailing
addresses of all parties and other persons to whom notice is being given by the
hearing officer;
001.05(A)(i)(3)(b)
The name, official title, mailing address, and telephone number of any counsel
or employee who has been designated to appear for the Commission;
001.05(A)(i)(3)(c) The official file or other
reference number, the name of the proceeding, and a general description of the
subject matter;
001.05(A)(i)(3)(d)
A statement of the time, place, and nature of the prehearing
conference;
001.05(A)(i)(3)(e) A
statement of the legal authority and jurisdiction under which the prehearing
conference and the hearing are to be held;
001.05(A)(i)(3)(f) The name, official title,
mailing address, and telephone number of the hearing officer for the prehearing
conference;
001.05(A)(i)(3)(g) A
statement that a party who fails to attend or participate in a prehearing
conference, hearing, or other stage of a contested case or who fails to make a
good faith effort to comply with a prehearing order may be held in default
under the Administrative Procedure Act; and
001.05(A)(i)(3)(h) Any other matters that the
hearing officer considers desirable to expedite the proceedings.
001.05(A)(ii) The
hearing officer may conduct a prehearing conference, as may be appropriate, to
deal with such matter as exploration of settlement possibilities, preparation
of stipulations, clarification of issues, rulings on identity and limitation of
the number of witnesses, objections to proffers of evidence, determination of
the extent to which direct evidence, rebuttal evidence, or cross-examination
will be presented in written form, and the extent to which telephone,
television, or other electronic means will be used as a substitute for
proceedings in person, order of presentation of evidence and cross-examination,
rulings regarding issuance of subpoenas, discovery orders, and protective
orders, and such other matters as will promote the orderly and prompt conduct
of the hearing. The hearing officer shall issue a prehearing order
incorporating the matters determined at the prehearing conference.
001.05(A)(iii) The hearing officer may
conduct all or part of the prehearing conference by telephone, television, or
other electronic means if each participant in the conference has an opportunity
to participate in, to hear, and, if technically feasible, to see the entire
proceeding while it is taking place.
001.05(B) DISCOVERY IN CONTESTED
CASES.
001.05(B)(i) The hearing
officer, at the request of any party or upon the hearing officer's own motion,
may issue subpoenas, discovery orders, and protective orders in accordance with
the rules of civil procedure except as may otherwise be prescribed by law.
Subpoenas and orders issued under this subsection may be enforced by the
district court.
001.05(B)(ii) Any
prehearing motion to compel discovery, motion to quash, motion for protective
order, or other discovery-related motion must:
001.05(B)(ii)(1) Quote the interrogatory,
request, question, or subpoena at issue, or be accompanied by a copy of the
interrogatory, request, subpoena, or excerpt of a deposition;
001.05(B)(ii)(2) State the reasons supporting
the motion;
001.05(B)(ii)(3) Be
accompanied by a statement setting forth the steps or efforts made by the
moving party or his or her counsel to resolve by agreement the issues raised
and that agreement has not been achieved; and
001.05(B)(ii)(4) Be filed with the
Commission. The moving party must serve copies of all such motions to all
parties to the contested case.
001.05(B)(iii) Other than is provided in
subsection 001.05(B)(ii)(4) above, discovery materials need not be filed with
the Commission.
001.05(C)CONTINUANCES
. The hearing officer may, in his or her discretion, grant extensions of time
or continuances of hearings upon the hearing officer's own motion or at the
timely request of any party for good cause shown. A party must file a written
motion for continuance which states in detail the reasons why a continuance is
necessary and serve a copy of the motion on all other parties.
001.05(C)(i) Good cause for an extension of
time or continuance may include, but is not limited to, the following:
001.05(C)(i)(1) Illness of the party, legal
counsel, or witness;
001.05(C)(i)(2) A change in legal
representation; or
001.05(C)(i)(3)
Settlement negotiations are underway.
001.05(D)
AMENDMENTS.
001.05(D)(i) A
petition may be amended at any time before an answer is filed or is due if
notice is given to the respondent or his or her attorney. In all other cases, a
petitioner must request permission to amend from the hearing officer.
001.05(D)(ii) A hearing officer
may also allow, in his or her discretion, the filing of supplemental pleadings
alleging facts material to the case occurring after the original pleadings were
filed. A hearing officer may also permit amendment of pleadings where a mistake
appears or where amendment does not materially change a claim or
defense.
001.05(E)
INFORMAL DISPOSITION. Unless otherwise precluded by
law, informal disposition may be made of any contested case by stipulation,
agreed settlement, consent order, or default.