Current through all regulations passed and filed through September 16, 2024
[Comment: For dates of references to a section of either the
United States Code or a regulation in the Code of Federal Regulations, see rule
4901:1-7-02 of the
Administrative Code.]
Interconnection agreements pursuant to
47 U.S.C.
252, shall be negotiated, mediated, and
arbitrated under the following mediation rules in this chapter and arbitration
rules outlined in rule
4901:1-7-09 of the
Administrative Code:
(A) Duty to
negotiate
All telephone companies have the duty to negotiate in good
faith the terms and conditions of their agreements. The commission will presume
that a party who refuses to provide information about its costs or other
relevant information upon request of the other party has not negotiated in good
faith provided that, where appropriate, the other party agrees to execute a
reasonable confidentiality agreement. This presumption of failure to negotiate
in good faith is rebuttable. The commission will resolve disputes concerning
the furnishing of information when raised by a party to the negotiation and may
impose sanctions where appropriate.
(B) Mediation
(1) Mediation is a voluntary alternative
dispute resolution process in which a neutral third party assists the parties
in reaching their own settlement. At any point during the negotiation, any
party or both parties to the negotiation may ask the commission to mediate any
differences arising during the course of the negotiation.
(2) To request mediation, a party to the
negotiation shall notify in writing the chief of the telecommunications section
of the commission's legal department and the chief of the
regulatory utility services division of the rates
and analysis department of the commission. A copy of the mediation request
should be simultaneously served on the other party in the dispute. The request
shall include the following information:
(a)
The name, address, telephone number, e-mail, and fax number of the party to the
negotiation making the request.
(b)
The name, address, telephone number, e-mail, and fax number of the other party
to the negotiation.
(c) The name,
address, telephone number, e-mail, and fax number of the parties'
representatives participating in the negotiations and to whom inquiries should
be made.
(d) The negotiation
history, including meeting times and locations.
(e) A statement concerning the differences
existing between the parties, including relevant documentation and arguments
concerning matters to be mediated.
(f) The other party to the negotiation shall
provide a written response within seven calendar days of the request for
mediation to the chief of the telecommunications section of the commission's
legal department and to the chief of the
regulatory utility services division of the rates
and analysis department. The response to a request for mediation shall be
simultaneously served upon the telephone company requesting the
mediation.
(3) The
commission will appoint a mediator to conduct the mediation. The mediator will
promptly contact the parties to the negotiation and establish a time to
commence mediation. The mediator will work with the parties to establish an
appropriate schedule and procedure for the mediation.
(4) The mediator's function is to be
impartial and to encourage voluntary settlement by the parties. The mediator
may not compel a settlement. The mediator may schedule meetings of the parties,
direct the parties to prepare for those meetings, hold private caucuses with
each party, request that the parties share information, attempt to achieve a
mediated resolution, and, if successful, assist the parties in preparing a
written agreement.
(5) Participants
in the mediation must have the authority to enter into a settlement of the
matters at issue.
(6)
Confidentiality
(a) Discussions during the
mediation process shall be private and confidential between the parties. By
electing mediation under this rule, the parties agree that no communication
made in the course of and relating to the subject matter of the mediation shall
be disclosed, except as permitted in this chapter.
(b) No party shall use any information
obtained through the mediation process for any purpose other than the mediation
process itself. This restriction includes, but is not limited to, using any
information obtained through the mediation process to gain a competitive
advantage.
(c) As provided in the
Ohio Rules of Evidence 408, offers to compromise disputed claims and responses
to them are inadmissible to prove the validity of that claim in a subsequent
proceeding. Evidence of conduct or statements made in compromise negotiations
are also not admissible in a future proceeding. This rule does not require the
exclusion of evidence otherwise discoverable merely because it is presented in
the course of compromise negotiations.
(7) Parties to the mediation shall reduce to
writing the mediated resolution of all or any portion of the mediated issues
and submit the resolution to the mediator.
(8) A member of the commission staff or an
attorney examiner who serves as a mediator shall, by virtue of having served in
such capacity, be precluded from serving in a decision-making role or as a
witness on matters subject to mediation in a formal commission case involving
the same parties and the same issues.
