SERVED: JANUARY 10,2012 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

OFFICE OF HEARINGS 

WASHINGTON, DC. 

IN THE MATTER OF 

AERO MICRONESIA 

FAA DOCKET NO. [TO BE ASSIGNED] 

(Civil Penalty Action) 

FDMS NO. FAA-2012- 0468 

AMENDED PROCEDURAL ORDER 

In order to expedite the hearing in this matter, the parties shall comply with the 

Procedural Schedule set forth hereinbelow1

. The Ru1es of Practice for this proceeding 

are set forth in 14 C.F.R. Part 13, Subpart G, ofthe Federal Aviation Regulations2

. 

Those rules provide, inter alia, that the Respondent must file a written Answer or motion 

·within thirty (30) days after service of the Complaint (14 C.F.R. § 13.209(a)), that a 

general denial is deemed a failure to file an Answer(§ 13.209(e)), that failure to file an 

Answer without good cause is deemed an admission of each allegation il'). the Complaint 

(§13.209(f)), and that, absent agreement of the parties, a party seeking an extension of 

time must file a written motion not less than seven (7) days before the document is due, 

absent good cause shown(§ 13.213(a) and (b)). 

More specifically, 14 GFR § 13.209 (e) states: 

A person filing an answer shall admit, deny, or state that the person is without 

sufficient knowledge or information to admit or deny, each numbered paragraph 

of the complaint. Any statemen.t or allegation contained in the complaint that is 

not specifica.J,ly denied in the answer may be deemed an admission of the truth of 

1 Materials filed in the FAA Hearing Docket (except those under seal) also.available for viewing at 

httv,'/lwww.regulations.goy, For additiona~ information see: ht{rxlldms.dot.gov. 

2 The Administrator's civil penalty decisions, along with indexes ofthe dedsions, the Rules of Practice, as 

well as other materials relating to civil penalty cases, are available on the internet at: 

http://www.faa. govl about/ office_ orglheadquarters _offices/ age/pol_ adjudication/ agc4 001 civil _penalty/; see 

also: http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/tltext/text-idx? c=ecjr&ipl=!ecjrbrowse!Title 141 14tab _ 02. tpl. In 

addition, Thomson Reuters/West Publishing publishes Federal Aviation Decisions~ Finally, the decisions 

are available through LEXIS (TRANS library) and WestLaw 9FTRAN-F AA database. For additional 

infoimation, see the Web site .. 

1 
that allegation. A general denial of the complaint is deemed a failure to file an 

answer. 

Under FAA Order 2150.3B and the Rules governing these proc~edings, the 

Agency attorney and the ;Respondent are e~couraged to consider the possibility of 

se~tlement an~ compr?1n1se of this matter. Compromise may be effected with or 

wtthout a findmg ofvl0lation(14 C.F.R. §13.16 (n) (1)). 

NOTE: This presiding Judge does not require "Disco.very" be served on the 

Judge .. Other Ju~g~s have differentpolicies, but as long as this case is assigned to the 

undersigned pres1dmg Judge the parties may, but are not required to, serve discovery on 

the undersigned. . 

The judge will not discuss the case with any party, or representative on an ex 

parte basis. If a party has a non-substantive matter to discuss, they should contact Mr. 

Ira Leibowitz, Attorney/Advisor (202) 366-2139 (Ira.Leibowitz@dot.gov). 

Administrative matters may be addressed to Staff Assistant, Pat Matthews [202-366-

5121] (Patricia.Matthews@dot.gov). 

WHEREFORE, the parties be and are hereby ORDER:eD to adhere to the 

following procedural schedule: 

1. · Venue shall be Honolulu, HI.; 

2. On or before March 29, 2013, the parties shall conclude all discovery including, 

but not limited to, depositions, doc~ent production, responses to production 

requests and/ or interrogatories. If the .parties. cannot resolve a discovery dispute 

they shall submit the dispute to the undersigned for resolution in a timely manner;' 

3. The parties shall be prepared to present this case at a hearing on or after March 

29, 20134

, subject to the availability of courtroom facilities. The specific date 

and time for the healing will be forthcoming in a separate Order. 

4. The parties will have the opportunity to file Post-Hearing briefs and arguments 

pursuant to a schedule to be determined at the hearing. For guidance, the 

following schedule is typically used: Comp~ainant shall file its brief fifteen ( 15) 

days after receipt of the transcript; Respondent shall its brief fifteen ( 15) days 

3 "The public policy of favoring and encouraging settlement makes necessary the inadmissibility of 

settlement negotiations in order to foster frank discussions". Fiberglass Insulators. Inc. Y Dqpuy, ~56 F. 2d 

652,653 (4 Cir. 1988); Wright & Graham, Federal Practice and Procedure: Evid~nce, §5302 (1980). Rule 

408 of the Federal Rules of Evidence excludes from evidence all statements made m the course of 

settlement negotiations. · . 414 C.F.R. § 13.221 states: "The administrative law judge s:Qall give each party at least 60 days nottce of 

the date, time and location of the hearing.'' If the parties can agree on tentative hearing dates, they are 

encouraged to discuss those dates with Mr. Leibowitz and/or Ms. Matthews in order to get the dates 

reser-Ved on the judge's calendar. 

2 
thereafter; and any rebuttal brief by the Complainant shall be filed seven (7) days thereafter. 

5. Settled cases will not be removed from the hearing docket until the proper written 

pleading(s), consistent with the applicable rules,5 is received· by the presiding judge.6 · 

6. The parties are advised that submissions sent to the street address of the U.S. 

Department of Transportation, Office of Hearings, may be delayed due to 

screening conducted by the U.S. Postal Service and/or other security agencies and 

may take up to four (4) weeks to be delivered. Additionally, submissions may be 

"irradiated", which affects the quality ·of submissions. The parties are 

encouraged, but not required, to file submissions by private delivery service, 

facsimile, or email. The certificate of service shall reflect the manner of service. 

The parties. are encouraged to provide email addresses to expedite service of 

pleadings. 

Rl~winc,~ U.S. Administrative Law Judge 

Attachment - Service List 

5 14 C.F.R. § 13.215 states: "At any time before or during a hearing, an agency attorney may withdraw a 

complaint or party may withdraw a request for a hearing without ~e consent of the administrati~e.law 

judge. If an agency attorney withdraws the complaint or a party w1thdraws the request for a hearmg and the 

answer, the administrative law judge shall dismiss the proceedings under this subpart with prejudice." 6 See: In the Matter ofLewisDrak;e & Associates, FAA Docket No. CP03S00045, DMS. No. FAA~2003-

16379, "Order Terminating Proceeding", served February 26, 2005; citing Kerry James Eldri.dge, FAA 

Docket CP89GL0458, "Order Canceling Hearing and Terminating Proceeding'', served January 16, 1991, 

at 1. 

3 
CORRECTED SERVICE LIST 

ORIGINAL & ONE COPY 

Federal Aviation Administration 

800 Independence Avenue, S.W. 

Washington, DC 20591 

Attention: Hearing Docket Clerk, AGC-430 

Wilbur Wright Building-Suite 2WI000 1 

David M. Kirstein 

Lyndsey M. Grunewald 

ONE COPY 

Kirstein & Young, PLLC, Respondent's Counsel 

1750 K Street, N.W., Suite 200 

Washington, DC 20006 

TEL: 202-331-3348 

Fax: 202-331-3933 

Michael R. Quinn, President 

Aero Micronesia, Inc. dba Asia Pacific Airlines, Inc., Respondent 

156 Diablo Road, Suite 203 

Danville, CA 94526 

TEL: 925-362-4430 

FAX: 925-362-4432 

Don Bobertz, Complainant's Counsel 

Office of the Regional Counsel, A WP-7 

POBox 92007 

Los Angeles, CA 90009-2007 

TEL: 310-725-3454 

FAX: 310-725-6816 

The Honorable Ronnie A. Yoder, Chief Administrative Law Judge 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

Office ofHearings, M-20 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E. (E11-310) 

Washington, DC 20590 

TEL: 202-366-2142 

FAX: 202-366-7536 

1 

Service was by U.S. Mail. For service in person or by expedited courier, use the following address: Federal 

Aviation Administration, 600 Independence Avenue, S.W., Wilbur Wright Building-Suite 2WIOOO, Washington, DC 20591; Attention: Hearing Docket Clerk, AGC-430.