§ 500.710 - Discovery.

(a) In general. The availability of information and documents through discovery is subject to the agency's assertion of privileges available to OFAC and/or to the Treasury and to the application of all exemptions afforded the agency pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552(b)(1) through (9)) and the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a) to all facets of discovery, including interrogatories, depositions that seek the release of trade secrets, proprietary materials, third-party confidential and/or commercially sensitive materials, placement of information, documents and/or materials under seal and/or protective order, and interlocutory appeals to the Secretary or the Secretary's designee from any decision of the Administrative Law Judge.

(b) Types of discovery. Parties may obtain discovery by one or more of the following methods: depositions upon oral examination or written questions; written interrogatories; production of documents or other evidence for inspection; and requests for admission. All depositions of Federal employees must take place in Washington, DC, at the U.S. Treasury Department or at the location where the Federal employee to be deposed performs his duties, whichever the Federal employee's supervisor or the Office of the Chief Counsel, Foreign Assets Control shall deem appropriate. All depositions of Federal employees shall be held at a mutually agreed upon date and time, and for a mutually agreed upon length of time.

(c) Interrogatories. Respondent's interrogatories must be served upon the Office of the Chief Counsel, Foreign Assets Control within 20 calendar days of respondent's written request for a hearing. The Office of Foreign Assets Control's interrogatories must be served within 30 calendar days of the receipt of service of respondent's interrogatories or within 30 calendar days of the receipt of respondent's written request for a hearing if no interrogatories are filed by respondent by that time. Parties have 30 calendar days to respond to interrogatories from the date interrogatories are received. Interrogatories shall be limited to 20 questions only. Each subpart, section, or other designation of a part of a question shall be counted as one complete question in computing the permitted 20 question total. Where more than 20 questions are served upon a party, the receiving party may determine which of the 20 questions the receiving party shall answer.

(d) Scope. Parties may obtain discovery regarding any matter not privileged which has material relevance to the merits of the pending action. It is not a ground for objection that the information sought will be inadmissible at the hearing if the information sought appears reasonably calculated to lead to discovery of admissible evidence. The Administrative Law Judge may make any order which justice requires to ensure that requests are not unreasonable, oppressive, excessive in scope or unduly burdensome, including the issuance of an order to show cause why a particular discovery request is justified upon the motion of the objecting party.

(e) Privileged matter. Privileged documents are not discoverable. Privileges include, inter alia, the attorney-client privilege, attorney work-product privilege, any government's or government agency's deliberative-process or classified information privilege, including materials classified pursuant to Executive Order 12958 (3 CFR, 1995 Comp., p. 333) and any future Executive orders that may be issued relating to the treatment of national security information, and all materials and information exempted from release to the public pursuant to the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a) and the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552(b)(1) through (9)).

(f) Updating discovery. Whenever a party receives new or additional information or documentation, all information produced, and all information required to be provided pursuant to the discovery and hearing process, must automatically be updated. The Administrative Law Judge may impose sanctions for failure to update, including prohibiting opposition to claims or defenses raised, striking pleadings or staying proceedings, dismissing the action or any part thereof, rendering a judgment by default, and holding a party in contempt.

(g) Time limits. All discovery, including all responses to discovery requests, shall be completed no later than 20 calendar days prior to the date scheduled for the commencement of the hearing. No exceptions to this time limit shall be permitted, unless the Administrative Law Judge finds on the record that good cause exists for waiving the requirements of this paragraph (g).