§  1.221   Notice of hearing; appearances.

   (a) Upon designation of an application for hearing, the Commission
   issues an order containing the following:

   (1) A statement as to the reasons for the Commission's action.

   (2) A statement as to the matters of fact and law involved, and the
   issues upon which the application will be heard.

   (3) A statement as to the time, place, and nature of the hearing. (If
   the time and place are not specified, the order will indicate that the
   time and place will be specified at a later date.)

   (4) A statement as to the legal authority and jurisdiction under which
   the hearing is to be held.

   (b) The order designating an application for hearing is mailed to the
   applicant by the Reference Information Center of the Consumer and
   Governmental Affairs Bureau and this order or a summary thereof is
   published in the Federal Register. Reasonable notice of hearing will be
   given to the parties in all proceedings; and, whenever possible, the
   Commission will give at least 60 days notice of comparative hearings.

   (c) In order to avail himself of the opportunity to be heard, the
   applicant, in person or by his attorney, shall, within 20 days of the
   mailing of the notice of designation for hearing by the Reference
   Information Center of the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau,
   file with the Commission, in triplicate, a written appearance stating
   that he will appear of the date fixed for hearing and present evidence
   on the issues specified in the order. Where an applicant fails to file
   such a written appearance within the time specified, or has not filed
   prior to the expiration of that time a petition to dismiss without
   prejudice, or a petition to accept, for good cause shown, such written
   appearance beyond expiration of said 20 days, the application will be
   dismissed with prejudice for failure to prosecute.

   (d) The Commission will on its own motion name as parties to the
   hearing any person found to be a party in interest.

   (e) In order to avail himself of the opportunity to be heard, any
   person named as a party pursuant to paragraph (d) of this section
   shall, within 20 days of the mailing of the notice of his designation
   as a party, file with the Commission, in person or by attorney, a
   written appearance in triplicate, stating that he will appear at the
   hearing. Any person so named who fails to file this written statement
   within the time specified, shall, unless good cause for such failure is
   shown, forfeit his hearing rights.

   (f)(1) A fee must accompany each written appearance filed with the
   Commission in certain cases designated for hearing. See subpart G, part
   1 for the amount due. Except as provided in paragraph (g) of this
   section, the fee must accompany each written appearance at the time of
   its filing and must be in conformance with the requirements of subpart
   G of the rules. A written appearance that does not contain the proper
   fee, or is not accompanied by a deferral request as per §  1.1115 of
   the rules, shall be dismissed and returned to the applicant by the fee
   processing staff. The presiding judge will be notified of this action
   and may dismiss the applicant with prejudice for failure to prosecute
   if the written appearance is not resubmitted with the correct fee
   within the original 20 day filing period.

   Note: If the parties file a settlement agreement prior to filing the
   Notice of Appearance or simultaneously with it, the hearing fee need
   not accompany the Notice of Appearance. In filing the Notice of
   Appearance, the applicant should clearly indicate that a settlement
   agreement has been filed. (The fact that there are ongoing negotiations
   that may lead to a settlement does not affect the requirement to pay
   the fee.) If a settlement agreement is not effectuated, the Presiding
   Judge will require immediate payment of the fee.

   (2) When a fee is required to accompany a written appearance as
   described in paragraph (f)(1) of this section, the written appearance
   must also contain FCC Registration Number (FRN) in conformance with
   subpart W of this part. The presiding judge will notify the party
   filing the appearance of the omitted FRN and dismiss the applicant with
   prejudice for failure to prosecute if the written appearance is not
   resubmitted with the FRN within ten (10) business days of the date of
   notification.

   (g) In comparative broadcast proceedings involving applicants for new
   facilities, where the hearing fee was paid before designation of the
   applications for hearing as required by the Public Notice described at
   §  73.3571(c), §  73.3572(d), or §  73.3573(g) of this chapter, a
   hearing fee payment should not be made with the filing of the Notice of
   Appearance.

   (h)(1) 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, each party, in person or by
   attorney, shall file a written appearance within five calendar days
   after the party informs the Chief Administrative Law Judge that it
   elects not to pursue alternative dispute resolution pursuant to
   §  76.7(g)(2) of this chapter or, if the parties have mutually elected
   to pursue alternative dispute resolution pursuant to §  76.7(g)(2) of
   this chapter, within five calendar days after the parties inform the
   Chief Administrative Law Judge that they have failed to resolve their
   dispute through alternative dispute resolution. The written appearance
   shall state that the party will appear on the date fixed for hearing
   and present evidence on the issues specified in the hearing designation
   order.

   (2) If the complainant fails to file a written appearance by this
   deadline, or fails to file prior to the deadline either a petition to
   dismiss the proceeding without prejudice or a petition to accept, for
   good cause shown, a written appearance beyond such deadline, the Chief
   Administrative Law Judge shall dismiss the complaint with prejudice for
   failure to prosecute.

   (3) If the defendant fails to file a written appearance by this
   deadline, or fails to file prior to this deadline a petition to accept,
   for good cause shown, a written appearance beyond such deadline, its
   opportunity to present evidence at hearing will be deemed to have been
   waived. If the hearing is so waived, the Chief Administrative Law Judge
   shall expeditiously terminate the proceeding and certify to the
   Commission the complaint for resolution based on the existing record.

   (5 U.S.C. 554. Sec. 309, 48 Stat. 1085, as amended; 47 U.S.C. 309)

   [28 12424, Nov. 22, 1963, as amended at  51 FR 19347 , May 29, 1986;  52 FR 5288 , Feb. 20, 1987;  55 FR 19154 , May 8, 1990;  56 FR 25638 , June 5,
   1991;  64 FR 60725 , Nov. 8, 1999;  66 FR 47895 , Sept. 14, 2001;  67 FR 13223 , Mar. 21, 2002;  76 FR 60672 , Sept. 29, 2011]

   return arrow Back to Top