CASE PROCESSING TIPS

Case Processing Tips and Other Pertinent Information Regarding Appeals from FAA Certificate Actions and Petitions for Review of FAA Certificate Denials - Please Read Carefully

1. Filing of Documents: Initial appeals from FAA certificate orders and petitions for review of FAA certificate denials are to be mailed to: Office of Administrative Law Judges (ALJ), 490 L'Enfant Plaza East, S.W., Suite 4701, Washington, D.C. 20594-0001 (phone 202-314-6150 or fax 202-314-6158). The Board's Rules of Practice (49 C.F.R. Part 821) require that you file an original and three copies of the initial appeal or petition for review. Also, a copy must also be served on FAA counsel. For all other documents (e.g., motions and discovery requests), an original and one copy for each docket file is required to be filed with the Board (with a copy also being served on the other party). Please do not file any excess copies

On appeals from FAA certificate actions, please include the FAA's case number on the initial appeal only. Also, please indicate if the appeal is from an EMERGENCY order.

Once NTSB assigns a docket number to a case, please notate the NTSB docket number on all documents.

2. To Whom Documents Are Directed: If you are filing a document in a case that has not yet been assigned to a judge, please file the document with the notation "UNASSIGNED" under the NTSB docket number on the first page, and address the document to the Case Manager at the above address.

When the parties are served with a formal written Notice of Case Assignment to a particular judge, please serve only that judge and FAA counsel. For Judges Fowler and Montaño, please serve them with an original and one copy of all motions, discovery, and routine filings. For Judges Geraghty and Mullins, please serve them directly with an original and a fax copy, and serve a courtesy fax copy on their Hearing Assistant, Julie MacGowan, who is located in Washington, D.C. The formal case assignment sheet will provide pertinent addresses, and telephone and fax numbers.

3. Subpoenas: Please refer to Sections 821.19 and 821.20 of the Board's Rules of Practice. All subpoenas must be requested in writing. Subpoena requests for Judges Fowler and Montaño should be faxed to 202-314-6158. Subpoena requests for Judges Geraghty and Mullins should be faxed directly to the judge (at the fax number provided on the case assignment sheet) and a courtesy copy should also be faxed to Ms. MacGowan at 202-314-6158.

For subpoenas for an individual's appearance at a hearing, please provide the name of the person you wish to subpoena; that person's position or title, if applicable; and that person's address.� For subpoenas duces tecum, please provide the name, title and address of the custodian of the documents, and identify each document sought. Pursuant to Section 821.20(a) of the Board's Rules of Practice, each subpoena request must include a brief statement of relevance and reasonable scope of the evidence sought. If a subpoena duces tecum is requested solely for the production of documents, rather than for a witness to bring the documents in connection with hearing testimony, please provide a reasonable date by which you would like to receive the documents. Otherwise, the subpoena will direct that the documents be delivered to you within seven days after the date on which the subpoena is served. A copy of your subpoena, as served, must be sent to the judge for inclusion in the official docket file. General questions about subpoenas should be directed to 202-314-6150.

Subpoenas from a judge are not necessary for depositions. The parties should consult with each other on a mutually agreeable date, time and place, and file a Notice of Deposition with the judge. The deposing party's Notice of Deposition should be served on the both deponent and the opposing party, and a copy should be sent to the judge for inclusion in the official docket file.

4. Motion for Continuance of a Hearing: Considerations of fairness to the parties, as well as the maintenance of aviation safety and the conservation of Board funds, require that continuances not be granted, unless "good cause" is shown. Any party seeking a continuance must do so by filing a written motion with the presiding judge. Please also fax a courtesy copy of the motion for continuance to the ALJ's Office. In addition, for Judges Geraghty and Mullins, please fax a courtesy copy directly to them (at the fax number provided on the case assignment sheet).

The current scheduled hearing date(s) should appear prominently on the first page of the motion. In an effort to be cost-efficient, our goal is to set cases for hearing in groups. We will give sufficient notice of hearing (at least 30 days). However, when possible, we will give 60 days' notice. If, when you receive the notice of hearing, you are aware of the existence of conflict or some other reason for a continuance, it is imperative that we be notified and a motion for continuance be filed as soon as you receive the hearing notice. This will allow us to substitute another case in that slot on the judge's calendar.

It should be noted that the scheduling of another commitment after you receive the notice of hearing is not good cause. Also, the fact that opposing counsel has no objection to a continuance will not, in the absence of good cause, provide a basis for a continuance.

5. Appeals from Judges' Decisions: An original and three copies of the Notice of Appeal must be filed with the ALJ's Office. However, any documents, including briefs and motions filed after the Notice of Appeal, must be filed directly with the Office of General Counsel, 490 L'Enfant Plaza East, S.W., Room 6401, Washington, D.C. 20594. NOTE: After your appeal from a judge's decision is received by the ALJ's Office and forwarded to the Office of General Counsel, you must contact the General Counsel's Office directly at 202-314-6080 (fax number 202-314-6090) with any inquiries, including questions relating to briefs, extensions of time, etc.

6. Petitions for Review of Board Decisions Filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals: A copy of the Petition for Review filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals must also be served on the ALJ's Office. This Office prepares the Board's certificate of record in all Court of Appeals cases, and needs to be informed immediately when a petition from a Board decision has been filed with the court. The contact person for this purpose is Karen Yates (202-314-6156).

All inquiries concerning the court appeal itself - including questions relating to the content of, and time limits for, the submission of documents with the court - must be directed to the Court of Appeals, and not the NTSB.

7. Applications for Fees Under the EAJA: An original and three copies of the application must be filed with the Case Manager (and a copy must be served on FAA counsel). Please do not serve the judge who presided over the enforcement action proceeding with either the original or a courtesy copy of the application. However, that judge's name should appear on the first page of the application, under the NTSB docket number, which should read: "___-EAJA-SE-[enforcement case docket number]" (e.g., "___-EAJA-SE-12345"). Thereafter, the Case Manager will assign an EAJA number, and a formal letter acknowledging receipt of the application and advising the parties to send all future documents directly to the judge assigned will be issued. Please review the Board's Rules Implementing the EAJA (49 C.F.R. Part 826) before filing an application.

It is important to note that 5 U.S.C. Section 504(a)(2) provides thatan EAJA application must be filed no later than 30 days after the date of the Board's final disposition of the enforcement action, and Section 826.24 of the Board's Rules Implementing the EAJA specifically provides that this 30-day deadline "is statutory and the Board has no authority to extend it," even for good cause.

8. Official Hours: The ALJ's Office hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except on Federal holidays).