§ 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