§ 1.248 - Status conferences.

§ 1.248 Prehearing Status conferences; hearing conferences.

Cross Reference

Link to an amendment published at 85 FR 63177, Oct. 6, 2020.

(a) The Commission, on its own initiative or at the request of any party, presiding officer may direct the parties or their attorneys to appear at a specified time and place for a conference prior to status conference during the course of a hearing proceeding, or to submit suggestions in writing, for the purpose of considering, among other things, the matters set forth in paragraph (c) of this section. The initial prehearing conference shall be scheduled 30 days after the effective date Any party may request a status conference at any time after release of the order designating a case matter for hearing, unless good cause is shown for scheduling such conference at a later date, except that for program carriage complaints filed pursuant to § 76.1302 of this chapter that the Chief, Media Bureau refers to an administrative law judge for an initial decision, the initial prehearing conference shall be held no later than 10 calendar days after the deadline for submitting written appearances pursuant to § 1.221(h) or within such shorter or longer period as the Commission may allow on motion or notice consistent with the public interest.

(b)

(1) The presiding officer (or the Commission or a panel of commissioners in a case over which it presides), on his own initiative or at the request of any party, may direct the parties or their attorneys to appear at a specified time and place for a conference prior to or during the course of a hearing, or to submit suggestions in writing, for the purpose of considering any of the matters set forth in paragraph (c) of this section. The initial prehearing conference shall be scheduled 30 days after the effective date of the order designating a case for hearing, unless good cause is shown for scheduling such conference at a later date, except that for program carriage complaints filed pursuant to § 76.1302 of this chapter that the Chief, Media Bureau refers to an administrative law judge for an initial decision, the initial prehearing conference shall be held no later than 10 calendar days after the deadline for submitting written appearances pursuant to § 1.221(h) or within such shorter or longer period as the presiding officer may allow on motion or notice consistent with the public interest.

(2)

. During a status conference, the presiding officer may issue rulings regarding matters relevant to the conduct of the hearing proceeding including, inter alia, procedural matters, discovery, and the submission of briefs or evidentiary materials.

(b) The presiding officer shall schedule an initial status conference promptly after written appearances have been submitted under § 1.91 or § 1.221. At or promptly after the initial status conference, the presiding officer shall adopt a schedule to govern the hearing proceeding. If the Commission designated a matter for hearing on a written record under §§ 1.370 through 1.376, the scheduling order shall include a deadline for filing a motion to request an oral hearing in accordance with § 1.376. If the Commission did not designate the matter for hearing on a written record, the scheduling order shall include a deadline for filing a motion to conduct the hearing on a written record. Except as circumstances otherwise require, the presiding officer shall allow a reasonable period prior to commencement of the hearing for the orderly completion of all prehearing procedures, including discovery, and for the submission and disposition of all

prehearing

motions.

Where the circumstances so warrant, the presiding officer shall, promptly after the hearing is ordered, call a preliminary prehearing conference, to inquire into the use of available procedures contemplated by the parties and the time required for their completion, to formulate a schedule for their completion, and to set a date for commencement of the hearing.

(c) In status conferences held, or in suggestions submitted, pursuant to paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section, the following matters, among others, may be considered:

(1) The necessity or desirability of simplification, clarification, amplification, or limitation of the issues Clarifying, amplifying, or narrowing issues designated for hearing;

(2) The admission Scheduling;

(3) Admission of facts and of the genuineness of documents (see § 1.246), and the possibility of stipulating with respect to facts;

(

3) The procedure at the hearing;

(4) The limitation of the number of witnesses Discovery;

(5) In cases arising under Title II of the Communications Act, the necessity or desirability of amending the pleadings and offers of settlement or proposals of adjustment; and

(6) In cases involving comparative broadcast applications:

(i) Narrowing the issues or the areas of inquiry and proof at the hearing;

(ii) [Reserved]

(iii) Reports and letters relating to surveys or contacts;

(iv) Assumptions regarding the availability of equipment;

(v) Network programming;

(vi) Assumptions regarding the availability of networks proposed;

(vii) Offers of letters in general;

(viii) The method of handling evidence relating to the past cooperation of existing stations owned and/or operated by the applicants with organizations in the area;

(ix) Proof of contracts, agreements, or understandings reduced to writing;

(x) Stipulations;

(xi) Need for depositions;

(xii) The numbering of exhibits;

(xiii) The order or offer of proof with relationship to docket number;

(xiv) The date for the formal hearing; and

(xv) Such other matters as may expedite the conduct of the hearing.

(7) In proceedings in which consent agreements may be negotiated (see § 1.93), the parties shall be prepared to state at the initial prehearing conference whether they are at that time willing to enter negotiations leading to a consent agreement.

(d) This paragraph applies to broadcast proceedings only.

(1) At the prehearing conference prescribed by this section, the parties to the proceeding shall be prepared to discuss the advisability of reducing any or all phases of their affirmative direct cases to written form.

(2) In hearings involving applications for new, improved and changed facilities and in comparative hearings involving only applications for new facilities, where it appears that it will contribute significantly to the disposition of the proceeding for the parties to submit all or any portion of their affirmative direct cases in writing, the presiding officer may, in his discretion, require them to do so.

(3) In other broadcast proceedings, where it appears that it will contribute significantly to the disposition of the proceeding for the parties to submit all or any portion of their affirmative direct cases in writing, it is the policy of the Commission to encourage them to do so. However, the phase or phases of the proceeding to be submitted in writing, the dates for the exchange of the written material, and other limitations upon the effect of adopting the written case procedure (such as whether material ruled out as incompetent may be restored by other competent testimony) is to be left to agreement of the parties as approved by the presiding officer.

(4) In broadcast comparative cases involving applicants for only new facilities, oral testimony and cross examination will be permitted only where, in the discretion of the presiding judge, material issues of decisional fact cannot be resolved without oral evidentiary hearing procedures or the public interest otherwise requires oral evidentiary proceedings.

(e) An official transcript of all conferences shall be made.

(f) The presiding officer may, upon the written request of a party or parties, approve the use of a speakerphone as a means of attendance at a prehearing conference if such use is found to conduce to the proper dispatch of business and the ends of justice.

[28 FR 12425, Nov. 22, 1963, as amended at 33 FR 463, Jan. 12, 1968; 36 FR 14133, July 30, 1971; 37 FR 7507, Apr. 15, 1972; 41 FR 14873, Apr. 8, 1976; 43 FR 33251, July 31, 1978; 56 FR 793, Jan. 9, 1991; 76 FR 60672, Sept. 29, 2011

Motions;

(6) Hearing procedure;

(7) Settlement (see § 1.93); and

(8) Such other matters that may aid in resolution of the issues designated for hearing.

(d) Status conferences may be conducted in person or by telephone conference call or similar technology, at the discretion of the presiding officer. An official transcript of all status conferences shall be made unless the presiding officer and the parties agree to forego a transcript, in which case any rulings by the presiding officer during the status conference shall be promptly memorialized in writing.

(e) The failure of any attorney or party, following reasonable notice, to appear at a scheduled status conference may be deemed a waiver by that party of its rights to participate in the hearing proceeding and shall not preclude the presiding officer from conferring with parties or counsel present.

[85 FR 63177, Oct. 6, 2020]