**Before the**

##  Federal Communications Commission

##  Washington, D.C. 20554

In the Matter of )

)

REGENCY CAB, INC. ) File No. D094689

)

Station WNIJ922 )

Gaithersburg, Maryland )

# ORDER

**Adopted:** November 22, 1999 **Released:** November 22, 1999

By the Chief, Public Safety and Private Wireless Division, Wireless
Telecommunications Bureau:

# I. INTRODUCTION

1.  On February 6, 1998, Deborah A. Malekzadeh, vice-president of
    Regency Cab, Inc. (Regency) filed a Petition for Reconsideration
    (Petition)[^1] of the January 6, 1998, partial assignment of
    frequency pair 851.7375/806.7375, frequencies formerly associated
    with the operation of Station WNIJ922, Gaithersburg, Maryland, to
    Malek Investment, Inc. (Malek). For the reasons discussed below,
    Regency's petition is dismissed.

    **II. BACKGROUND**

2.  On March 10, 1997, Malek filed an application for a partial
    assignment with the former Office of Operations of the Wireless
    Telecommunications Bureau (Office of Operations), seeking the
    assignment of frequency pair 851.7375/806.7375 MHz from Regency's
    Station WNIJ922 to Malek, under a new call sign.[^2] On August 20,
    1997, the Office of Operations dismissed the assignment
    application,[^3] on the basis that Malek had not filed a separate
    form 600 to delete frequency pair 851.7375/806.7375 MHz from Station
    WNIJ922, as required by Section 90.153(c) of the Commission's
    Rules.[^4]

3.  On September 19, 1997, Malek timely filed a petition for
    reconsideration of the August 20, 1997, Dismissal Notice.[^5] On
    October 28, 1997, Ms. Malekzadeh faxed a letter to the Office of
    Operations, stating: "I would like to have all transfers of any sort
    put on hold until you hear from me (Deborah Malekzadeh, vice
    president of Regency). I feel there is still some investigation
    which needs to be done." Ms. Malekzadeh did not provide any other
    information, nor did she inform the Office of Operations of the type
    of investigation she was seeking.[^6]

4.  By letter dated December 10, 1997, the Office of Operations
    requested additional information from Ms. Malekzadeh relating to her
    October 28, 1997, request to put all transfers "on hold."[^7] The
    letter was sent to Ms. Malekzadeh via regular and certified mail. A
    copy of the letter was sent to Abdollah Malekzadeh, president of
    Regency, as well as to David J. Kaufman, counsel to Assadollah
    Malekzadeh of Malek Investment. The December 10, 1997, inquiry
    letter requested that Ms. Malekzadeh provide additional information
    regarding her investigation request, Station WNIJ922 and Regency,
    within ten (10) working days (which was no later than December 24,
    1997). Ms. Malekzadeh was advised that if she did not respond by
    December 24, 1997, the Office of Operations would make its
    determination relating to the pending assignment application based
    upon the available information.[^8]

5.  On December 29, 1997, Ms. Malekzadeh filed a late response to the
    December 10, 1997, information request.[^9] Ms. Malekzadeh did not
    provide the requested information, nor did she serve a copy of her
    response on Abdollah Malekzadeh or Assadollah Malekzadeh. In her
    response, Ms. Malekzadeh stated that she was a 50% owner of Regency.
    She further stated: "I do not want these 'channel pairs' to be
    transferred to Malek Investment, Inc. until the date Regency Cab is
    sold."[^10] No other information was provided.

6.  Subsequently, the Office of Operations permitted Malek to file the
    additional form necessary to process the assignment application.
    Once the form was received, the assignment application was
    reinstated under a new file number and returned for processing,
    rendering the September 19, 1997, petition for reconsideration moot.
    After confirming that Abdollah Malekzadeh was the president of
    Regency and authorized to act on its behalf, the assignment
    application was granted on January 6, 1998.[^11] As a result, Malek
    received an authorization to operate on frequency pair
    851.7375/806.7375 under call sign WPLS303,[^12] and frequency pair
    851.7375/806.7375 MHz was deleted from Regency's authorization to
    operate Station WNIJ922. After the assignment, frequency pair
    852.5625/807.5625 MHz remained authorized to Regency under call sign
    WNIJ922.[^13]

7.  On February 6, 1998, thirty-one days after the January 6, 1998,
    modification of Station WNIJ922 and assignment of frequency pair
    851.7375/806.7375 MHz to Malek, Regency filed the subject
    reconsideration petition, requesting the return of frequency pair
    851.7375/806.7375 MHz to Regency under call sign WNIJ922.[^14]

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III. **DISCUSSION**

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8.  Persons seeking reconsideration of a Commission action, including
    those taken under delegated authority, must filed a petition for
    reconsideration within thirty days of the action.[^15] This deadline
    is statutory and may not be waived by the Commission.[^16] On
    January 6, 1998, the Office of Operations sent Regency its modified
    authorization for Station WNIJ922. Accordingly, the instant
    reconsideration petition had to be filed by Regency on or before
    February 5, 1998. Regency's Petition was filed on February 6,

    1998, one day past the filing deadline. The petition was not timely
    filed.[^17] Therefore, the petition may not be considered and must
    be dismissed.[^18]

# CONCLUSION AND ORDERING CLAUSES

9.  Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that, pursuant to sections 4(i) and 405
    of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. §§ 154(i)
    and 405, and sections 0.331 and 1.106 of the Commission\'s rules, 47
    C.F.R. §§ 0.331 and 1.106, the Petition for Reconsideration filed by
    Regency Cab, Inc. IS DISMISSED.

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

D'wana R. Terry

Chief, Public Safety and Private Wireless Division

Wireless Telecommunications Bureau

[^1]: Petition for Reconsideration (February 6, 1998) (Petition).

[^2]: *See* Application Number D073301, filed on March 10, 1997,
    requesting assignment from Regency Cab, Inc. to

    Malek Investment, Inc. of frequency pair 851.7375/806.7375 MHz
    (assignment application). It should be noted that Station WNIJ922
    was originally authorized to Regency Cab, Inc. on April 5, 1995, for
    frequency pairs 851.7375/806.7375 MHz and 852.5625/807.5625 MHz.

[^3]: *See* Notice of Application Dismissal dated August 20, 1997,
    dismissing Application Number D073301 for failure to file all
    necessary forms (Dismissal Notice).

[^4]: 47 C.F.R. § 90.153(c).

[^5]: Petition for Reconsideration (September 19, 1997) (Petition for
    Reconsideration). We note that apparently the September 19, 1997,
    petition for reconsideration was not served on Deborah Malekzadeh of
    Regency, presumably because Ms. Malekzadeh had not yet appeared in
    this matter.

[^6]: Letter from Deborah A. Malekzadeh, vice-president of Regency Cab,
    Inc., to Ms. Evelyn Keilholtz, Federal Communications Commission
    (dated October 28, 1997).

[^7]: Letter from Michael J. Regiec, Federal Communications Commission,
    to Deborah A. Malekzadeh, vice-president of Regency Cab, Inc. (dated
    December 10, 1997).

[^8]: On January 9, 1998, the December 10, 1997, letter was returned to
    the Office of Operations, by the U.S. Post Office marked
    "Unclaimed." The U.S. Post Office noted that it had sent two notices
    to Ms. Malekzadeh, before returning the certified copy of the
    letter.

[^9]: Letter from Deborah A. Malekzadeh, Vice-President of Regency Cab,
    Inc., to Michael J. Regiec, Federal Communications Commission,.
    (dated December 23, 1997, and received December 29, 1997).

[^10]: *Id.*

[^11]: As president of Regency Cab, Inc., Abdollah Malekzadeh was
    authorized to sign the assignment application on behalf of Regency
    Cab, Inc. *See* 47 C.F.R. §1.913.

[^12]: We note that on April 12, 1999, the licensee name on the
    authorization for Station WPLS303 was changed from Malek Investment,
    Inc. to Montgomery Shuttle. *See* Application Number A028931,
    requesting the name change.

[^13]: *See* Application No. D094689 (formerly Application No. D073301),
    granted on January 6, 1998, authorizing the modification of Station
    WNIJ922 to delete frequency pair 851.7375/806.7375 MHz.

[^14]: The Petition was received by the FCC Mail Room in Washington,
    D.C. on February 6, 1998. A copy of the Petition was also sent via
    telefax to the Office of Operations in Gettysburg, Pa. on February
    6, 1998.

[^15]: 47 U.S.C. §405(a); 47 C.F.R. §§ 1.104(b), 1.106(f).

[^16]: Stephen E. Powell, *Memorandum Opinion and Order*, 11 FCC Rcd
    11925, 11926 (1996) (*citing Reuters Ltd. V. FCC*, 781 F.2d 946, 952
    (D.C. Cir. 1986)).

[^17]: *See* 47 C.F.R. §1.106(f) (a petition for reconsideration shall
    be filed within 30 days from the date of public notice of the final
    Commission action, as that date is defined in Section 1.4(b) of the
    Commission\'s Rules, 47 C.F.R. §1.4(b). Section 1.4(b)(5) of the
    Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R. §1.4(b)(5), states that if a document
    is neither published in the Federal Register nor released, and a
    Public Notice is not released, the date to be used when computing
    time is the date on the document sent to persons affected by the
    action. On January 8, 1998, Regency Cab, Inc. and Malek Investment,
    Inc. were sent copies of their new authorizations.

[^18]: *See* Metromedia, Inc., 56 FCC 2d 909, 909-910 (1975) (dismissing
    as untimely petition for reconsideration filed one day late).