§ 76.1513   Open video dispute resolution.

   (a) Complaints. Any party aggrieved by conduct that it believes constitute a
   violation of the regulations set forth in this part or in section 653 of the
   Communications Act (47 U.S.C. 573) may commence an adjudicatory proceeding
   at the Commission to obtain enforcement of the rules through the filing of a
   complaint. The Commission shall resolve any such dispute within 180 days
   after the filing of a complaint. The complaint shall be filed and responded
   to in accordance with the procedures specified in § 76.7 of this part with
   the following additions or changes.

   (b) Alternate dispute resolution. An open video system operator may not
   provide  in its carriage contracts with programming providers that any
   dispute  must  be  submitted  to  arbitration, mediation, or any other
   alternative method for dispute resolution prior to submission of a complaint
   to the Commission.

   (c)  Notice required prior to filing of complaint. Any aggrieved party
   intending to file a complaint under this section must first notify the
   potential defendant open video system operator that it intends to file a
   complaint with the Commission based on actions alleged to violate one or
   more of the provisions contained in this part or in Section 653 of the
   Communications Act. The notice must be in writing and must be sufficiently
   detailed so that its recipient(s) can determine the specific nature of the
   potential complaint. The potential complainant must allow a minimum of ten
   (10)  days  for  the potential defendant(s) to respond before filing a
   complaint with the Commission.

   (d) Contents of complaint. In addition to the requirements of § 76.7 of this
   part, an open video system complaint shall contain:

   (1) The type of entity that describes complainant (e.g., individual, private
   association, partnership, or corporation), the address and telephone number
   of the complainant, and the address and telephone number of each defendant;

   (2)  If  discrimination in rates, terms, and conditions of carriage is
   alleged, documentary evidence shall be submitted such as a preliminary
   carriage  rate  estimate or a programming contract that demonstrates a
   differential  in  price, terms or conditions between complainant and a
   competing video programming provider or, if no programming contract or
   preliminary carriage rate estimate is submitted with the complaint, an
   affidavit signed by an officer of complainant alleging that a differential
   in price, terms or conditions exists, a description of the nature and extent
   (if known or reasonably estimated by the complainant) of the differential,
   together with a statement that defendant refused to provide any further
   specific comparative information;

   Note to paragraph (d)(2): Upon request by a complainant, the preliminary
   carriage rate estimate shall include a calculation of the average of the
   carriage  rates  paid  by the unaffiliated video programming providers
   receiving  carriage from the open video system operator, including the
   information needed for any weighting of the individual carriage rates that
   the operator has included in the average rate.

   (3) If a programming contract or a preliminary carriage rate estimate is
   submitted with the complaint in support of the alleged violation, specific
   references to the relevant provisions therein.

   (4) The complaint must be accompanied by appropriate evidence demonstrating
   that the required notification pursuant to paragraph (c) of this section has
   been made.

   (e) Answer. (1) Any open video system operator upon which a complaint is
   served under this section shall answer within thirty (30) days of service of
   the complaint, unless otherwise directed by the Commission.

   (2) An answer to a discrimination complaint shall state the reasons for any
   differential in prices, terms or conditions between the complainant and its
   competitor, and shall specify the particular justification relied upon in
   support of the differential. Any documents or contracts submitted pursuant
   to this paragraph may be protected as proprietary pursuant to § 76.9 of this
   part.

   (f)  Reply.  Within  twenty  (20) days after service of an answer, the
   complainant may file and serve a reply which shall be responsive to matters
   contained in the answer and shall not contain new matters.

   (g) Time limit on filing of complaints. Any complaint filed pursuant to this
   subsection must be filed within one year of the date on which one of the
   following events occurs

   (1)  The  open  video  system operator enters into a contract with the
   complainant that the complainant alleges to violate one or more of the rules
   contained in this part; or

   (2) The open video system operator offers to carry programming for the
   complainant pursuant to terms that the complainant alleges to violate one or
   more  of  the  rules  contained  in this part, and such offer to carry
   programming is unrelated to any existing contract between the complainant
   and the open video system operator; or

   (3) The complainant has notified an open video system operator that it
   intends to file a complaint with the Commission based on a request for such
   operator to carry the complainant's programming on its open video system
   that has been denied or unacknowledged, allegedly in violation of one or
   more of the rules contained in this part.

   (h) Remedies for violations—(1) Remedies authorized. Upon completion of such
   adjudicatory proceeding, the Commission shall order appropriate remedies,
   including, if necessary, the requiring carriage, awarding damages to any
   person denied carriage, or any combination of such sanctions. Such order
   shall set forth a timetable for compliance, and shall become effective upon
   release.

   (2) Additional sanctions. The remedies provided in paragraph (h)(1) of this
   section are in addition to and not in lieu of the sanctions available under
   title V or any other provision of the Communications Act.

   [ 61 FR 28708 , June 5, 1996, as amended at  61 FR 43178 , Aug. 21, 1996;  62 FR 26239 , May 13, 1997;  64 FR 6575 , Feb. 10, 1999]

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