Current through Register Vol. 39, No. 6, September 16, 2024
(a) Failure to
Appear:
(1) If a party served with notice
requests a hearing within the time required and fails to appear without having
notified the Board, and no continuance or adjournment is ordered, the party is
considered to have waived the right to appear at the hearing and the Board may
proceed with the hearing in the party's absence.
(2) If the absent party is the only party
other than the Board, the Board may proceed with the hearing and make its
decision in the party's absence.
(3) Continuances and adjournments shall be
granted to a party only in compelling circumstances and for hardship
noted.
(4) If a hearing is
conducted or a decision reached in the absence of a party, that party may
petition the Board for a reopening of the case. Petitions will not be granted,
except when petitioner can show that the reasons for the failure to appear were
justifiable and that fairness requires reopening of the case. The decision made
by the Board will be in writing. A copy will be sent to the petitioner and made
a part of the record of the contested case.
(b) Simplification of Issues. The parties to
a contested case may agree in advance to simplify the hearing by eliminating
issues to be contested at the hearing, accepting the validity of certain
proposed evidence, accepting the findings in some other case with relevance to
the case at hand, or agreeing to such other matters as may expedite the
hearing.
(c) Subpoenas:
(1) The executive director shall issue
subpoenas in the Board's name.
(2)
Subpoenas requiring the attendance of witnesses, or those to produce documents,
evidence, or things, will be issued by the executive director within five
business days of the receipt of a request from a party to the case for such
subpoena.
(3) Any person receiving
a subpoena from the Board may object thereto by filing a written objection to
the subpoena with the Board. Such objection must include a concise, but
complete statement of reasons why the subpoena should be revoked or modified.
These reasons may include lack of relevancy of the evidence requested, lack of
particularity in the description of the evidence sought, or any other reasons
sufficient in law for holding the subpoena invalid, such as that the evidence
is privileged, that appearance or production would be so disruptive as to be
unreasonable in light of the significance of the evidence sought, or other
undue hardships.
(4) The objecting
witness shall serve the objection on the party who requested the subpoena as
soon as the objection is filed with the Board.
(5) The party requesting the subpoena, within
five days, may file a written response to the objection. The response shall be
served in like manner as the objection.
(6) After receipt of the objection and
response thereto, if any, the Board shall issue a notice to the party who
requested and the party challenging the subpoena, and may notify all other
parties of an open hearing, to be scheduled as soon as practicable, at which
time evidence and testimony may be presented limited to the questions raised by
the objection and response, if any.
(7) Promptly after the close of such hearing,
the Board will rule on the challenge and issue a written decision. A copy of
this decision will be issued to all parties and made a part of the
record.
Authority
G.S.
89C-10;
89C-21;
89C-22;
150B-38;
150B-39;
150B-40;
Eff.
February 1, 1976;
Readopted Eff. September 29, 1977;
Amended Eff. August 1, 2000; August 1, 1998; April 1, 1989; December 1, 1984;
January 1, 1982;
Pursuant to
G.S.
150B-21.3A, rule is necessary without
substantive public interest Eff. April 27,
2019.
