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 Federal  Communications  Commission  DA-  03-  1132 
 Before  the  FEDERAL  COMMUNICATIONS  COMMISSION 
 Washington,  D.  C.  20554 


 Dr.  Bonnie  ODay, 
 Complainant, 
 v. 
 Audiovox  Communications  Corporation 
 and 
 Cellco  Partnership,  d/  b/  a  Verizon  Wireless, 
 Defendants. 


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 File  Nos. 
 EB-  03-  TC-  F-  004 


 EB-  03-  TC-  F-  001 


 ORDER 
 Adopted:  April  11,  2003  Released:  April  14,  2003 
 By  the  Chief,  Telecommunications  Consumers  Division,  Enforcement  Bureau: 
 1.  On  February  21,  2003,  Dr.  Bonnie  ODay  (  ODay  or  Complainant)  filed  a  formal  complaint  alleging,  among  other  things,  that  many  of  the  features  of  a  wireless  telephone 
 developed  by  Audiovox  Communications  Corporation  and  Cellco  Parnership  d/  b/  a  Verizon  Wireless  (  Defendants)  are  inaccessible  to  blind  or  visually-  impaired  users.  In  a  Notice  of 
 Formal  Complaint  issued  on  February  28,  2003,  the  Telecommunications  Consumers  Division  (  Division)  set  forth  a  pleading  cycle  for  the  ODay  formal  complaint  proceeding.  1  On  March 
 13,  2003,  in  response  to  a  joint  motion  filed  by  the  Defendants,  the  Division  slightly  modified  the  pleading  schedule  for  the  proceeding.  2 
 2.  On  April  7,  2003,  the  Complainant  filed  an  Unopposed  Motion  for  Limited  Modification  of  the  Procedural  Schedule  (  Motion),  requesting  that  the  pleading  cycle 


 established  in  the  March  13  Order  be  extended  by  one  week  to  afford  her  the  opportunity  to 
 respond  to  Defendants  Answers,  Audiovoxs  Motion  to  Dismiss,  and  to  meet  other  deadlines  in  the  proceedings.  3 
 1  See  ODay  v.  Audiovox  Communications  Corporation  and  Verizon  Wireless,  Notice  of  Formal 
 Complaint,  dated  February  28,  2003.  The  Notice  inadvertently  omitted  the  second  file  number  for  these  proceedings;  both  file  numbers  are  set  out  in  the  caption  to  this  Order. 


 2  See  ODay  v.  Audiovox  Communications  Corporation  &  Cellco  Partnership,  d/  b/  a  Verizon  Wireless, 
 Order,  DA  03-  767,  rel.  Mar.  13,  2003  (  March  13  Order). 
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 Federal  Communications  Commission  DA  03-  1132 
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 3.  We  are  satisfied  that  granting  the  Complainants  unopposed  Motion  will  serve  the  public  interest  by  promoting  the  development  of  a  complete  record  in  this  proceeding,  without 
 harming  any  of  the  parties  involved.  We  therefore  set  out  the  following  modified  procedural  schedule  and  instructions  to  the  parties: 


 1)  The  Complainant  shall,  on  or  before  April  18,  2003,  file  and  serve  a  reply  to  the  answer  that  complies  with  47  C.  F.  R.    1.726. 
 2)  The  Complainant  shall,  on  or  before  April  18,  2003,  file  and  serve  its  request  for  up  to  fifteen  (15)  interrogatories  upon  each  of  the  Defendants,  and  file  and  serve 
 any  opposition  and  objections  to  defendants  request  for  interrogatories,  if  any.  47  C.  F.  R.    1.729. 


 3)  The  Complainant  shall,  on  or  before  April  18,  2003,  file  and  serve  its  Opposition  to  Defendant  Audiovoxs  Motion  to  Dismiss  filed  on  April  2,  2003.  We  note  that 
 defendant  Audiovox  has  waived  any  timeliness  objections  to  Complainants  filing  of  its  Opposition  on  April  18,  2003. 


 4)  The  Defendants  shall,  on  or  before  April  25,  2003,  file  any  opposition  and  objections  to  the  Complainants  request  for  interrogatories,  if  any.  47  C.  F.  R.   
 1.729.  5)  We  note  that  Complainant  has  waived  any  timeliness  objection  to  Defendant 
 Audiovoxs  filing  of  a  Motion  to  Compel  with  respect  to  Complainants  response  to  Audiovoxs  First  Interrogatory  in  this  proceeding. 


 6)  An  initial  status  conference  in  this  proceeding  has  been  scheduled  for  May  1,  2003,  at  10:  00  a.  m.,  in  the  Third  Floor  North  Conference  Room  (Room  3-  B112) 
 of  the  Federal  Communications  Commission,  445  12  th  Street,  S.  W.,  Washington,  D.  C.  20554.  After  reaching  the  3  rd  Floor-  North  elevator  lobby,  the  parties  should 
 call  Amy  Goodman  at  418-  1549  to  be  escorted  to  the  conference  room.  See  47  C.  F.  R.    1.733.  Counsel  should  be  prepared  to  spend  at  least  two  hours  in 
 conference.  7)  The  parties  shall  meet  prior  to  attending  the  initial  status  conference.  One 
 purpose  of  that  meeting  is  to  resolve  or  narrow  as  many  issues  as  possible  prior  to  the  conference.  The  parties  shall  discuss  matters  including,  but  not  limited  to, 


 settlement  prospects,  discovery,  factual  and  legal  issues  in  dispute,  pleading  schedules,  and  the  creation  of  a  joint  statement  of  stipulated  facts,  disputed  facts, 
 and  key  legal  issues.  See  47  C.  F.  R.    1.733(  b)(  1). 
 8)  The  parties  shall  file  with  the  Commission  Secretary  and  the  Commission  counsel  (Amy  Goodman)  a  joint  statement  of  all  proposals  agreed  to  and  any  disputes 


 remaining  with  respect  to  the  matters  listed  in  47  C.  F.  R.    1.733(  b)(  1)(  i)-(  iv)  as  a 
 (Continued  from  previous  page)  3  A  conference  call  had  been  held  on  April  4,  2003,  to  discuss  Complainants  request.  In  her  Motion,  the 


 Complainant  states  that  the  one-  week  extension  would  apply  to  paragraphs  3  through  9  of  the  Divisions  March  13  Order.  Motion  at  2.  The  Complainant  further  states  that  the  parties  have  agreed  to  waive  challenges  to  the 
 timeliness  of  pleadings  filed  in  accordance  with  Complainants  Motion.  Id. 
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 result  of  the  parties  meeting.  At  the  same  time,  the  parties  also  shall  submit  a  joint  statement  of  stipulated  facts,  disputed  facts,  and  key  legal  issues.  See  47 
 C.  F.  R.    1.732(  h),  1.733(  b)(  1)(  v),  1.733(  b)(  2).  Both  joint  statements  must  be  hand-  delivered  (if  counsel  is  located  in  the  Washington,  D.  C.  area),  faxed,  and  e-mailed 
 to  the  Commission  counsel,  and  filed  with  the  Commission  Secretary,  on  or  before  April  25,  2003.  See  47  C.  F.  R.    1.733(  b)(  2).  The  parties  may  submit 
 these  two  joint  statements  in  a  single  document,  as  long  as  each  is  separately  identified  therein.  We  strongly  encourage  the  parties  to  devote  substantial  effort 
 to  developing  comprehensive  and  detailed  joint  statements.  See  Implementation  of  Sections  255  and  251(  a)(  2)  of  the  Communications  Act  of  1934,  as  enacted  by 
 the  Telecommunications  Act  of  1996;  Access  to  Telecommunications  Service,  Telecommunications  Equipment  and  Customer  Premises  Equipment  by  Persons 
 with  Disabilities,  16  FCC  Rcd  6417,  5696-  97  (1999)  (  Section  255  Order). 
 9)  The  parties  shall  review  the  formal  complaint  rules  carefully  to  determine  whether  the  circumstances  of  this  proceeding  require  that  any  additional  pleadings,  other 


 than  those  described  herein,  must  be  served  and  filed  prior  to  the  initial  status  conference.  See,  e.  g.,  47  C.  F.  R.    1.726  (replies),  1.729  (discovery). 


 4.  Accordingly,  IT  IS  ORDERED,  pursuant  to  sections  4(  i),  4(  j),  208,  and  255  of  the  Communications  Act  of  1934,  as  amended,  47  U.  S.  C.    154(  i),  154(  j),  208,  255,  section  1.3  of 
 the  Commissions  rules,  47  C.  F.  R.    1.3,  and  the  authority  delegated  in  sections  0.111  and  0.311  of  the  Commissions  rules,  47  C.  F.  R.    0.111,  0.311,  that  the  Unopposed  Motion  of 
 Complainant  for  Limited  Modification  of  the  Procedural  Schedule  IS  GRANTED. 


 FEDERAL  COMMUNICATIONS  COMMISSION 
 Colleen  K.  Heitkamp  Chief,  Telecommunications  Consumers  Division 
 Enforcement  Bureau 
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