Current through Vol. 42, No. 1, September 16, 2024
(a)
Purpose and applicability. The general procedures for individual
proceedings established by this Subchapter shall apply to proceedings conducted
by the Commission and by the Department for such purposes as declaratory
rulings, licensing and enforcement matters, as appropriate and as authorized
and required pursuant to the APA, the Code or other applicable law. This
procedure does not apply to complaints filed against the Department or any
employee of the Department.
(b)
Initiation of proceedings and petitions by Department. Individual
proceedings may be initiated by Department staff by issuance of a Notice of
Violation or by filing a Petition with the Director's Executive
Secretary.
(c)
Content and
service of notices and petitions.
(1)
The Department will usually first serve the Respondent with a written notice of
violation (NOV) which informs the Respondent of the regulatory requirement,
statute, license term or other matter at issue. Each Notice of Violation and
Petition shall name the Respondent(s) and provide a brief statement of the
facts giving a right to relief and of the relief requested. The petition shall
be signed by the person presenting the same, or his attorney (see APA s 310),
and shall include the signer's address and phone number. A letter, inspection
sheet, petition, consent order or final order may constitute a NOV for purposes
of instituting these proceedings if it meets these requirements.
(2) The style of documents filed to initiate
a proceeding shall appear in substantially the form shown in Appendix B of this
chapter.
(3) A Notice or Petition
should specify that the Respondent may file a response, how and where the
response may be filed, the number of days or a date certain within which to
file the response, state any scheduled hearing date, place and time or include
notice of the opportunity to request an administrative hearing, and shall be
served on the named Respondents.
(d)
Methods and proof of
service.
(1) Service of a petition and
initial notice of hearing shall be by personal delivery served by a person
licensed to make service of process in civil cases, or by certified mail with
delivery shown by return receipt, or by publication if it is shown that service
cannot be made by any other means despite the exercise of due diligence.
Service by certified mail shall effective on the date of receipt or, if
refused, on the date refusal by the Respondent. Acceptance or refusal by any
officer of a business or an authorized agent for a business shall constitute
acceptance or refusal by the party addressed.
(2) The person making service shall file
proof of service with the Administrative Law Clerk promptly and in any event
within the time during which the person served must respond to the process.
Failure to make proof of service does not affect the validity of
service.
(3) The Administrative Law
Judge may refer to the Oklahoma Pleading Code for guidance regarding service.
Acknowledgment in writing by the recipient, or appearance by the recipient at a
hearing without objecting to service, is equivalent to proof of
service.
(4) Service by mail in a
matter seeking to revoke or suspend any license may be deemed complete when
there is an affirmation that the notice was mailed by certified mail to the
licensee's last known address, and that he or she may not be found otherwise,
despite the exercise of due diligence. The Administrative Law Judge shall
inquire into and determine whether due diligence has been exercised.
Added at 15 Ok Reg 3500,
eff 7-13-98
