U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION 

------x 

In the Matter of 

AIRPORT MAILERS, INC., Docket No.: 

FAA-2013-0715 

Respondent. 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - X 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

Office of Hearings, M-20 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E. 

(Ell-310) 

Washington, D.C. 20590 

Tuesday, November 19, 2013 

SCHEDULING CONFERENCE (TELEPHONIC) 

The above-entitled matter came on for hearing 

at 11:03 a.m., pursuant to notice. 

BEFORE: HON. J.E. SULLIVAN, 

U.S. Administrative Law Judge 

Diversified Reporting Services, Inc. 

(202) 467-9200 

RECEIVED 

DEC 1 6 2013 

HEARING DOCKET 

Diversified Reporting Services, Inc. 
APPEARANCES: 

For the Respondent: 

HEATHER LOWRY, President 

Airport Mailers, Inc. 

13420 Reese Building W 

Huntersville, North Carolina 28078 

JOHN F. HANZEL, ESQ. 

MATTHEW SPENCER, ESQ. 

John F. Hanzel, P.A. 

19425-G Liverpool Parkway 

Cornelius, North Carolina 28031 

(704) 892-1375 

For the Agency: 

JAMES H. DUNFEE, JR., ESQ. 

Federal Aviation Administration 

Office of Regional Counsel 

Southern Region, AS0-7 

1701 Columbia Avenue 

College Park, Georgia 30337 

( 404) 305-5200 

Diversified Reporting Services, Inc. 

2 
1 P R 0 C E E D I N G S 

2 JUDGE SULLIVAN: We're on the record in the matter 

3 of Airport Mailers, Inc. This is Docket Number 

4 FAA-2013-0715. Today is Tuesday, November 19, 2013, and the 

5 parties have appeared for a Rule 16 litigation scheduling 

6 conference. The FAA is represented by its attorney of 

7 record, James H. Dunfee, Jr. 

8 The respondent, Airport Mailers, Inc., is 

9 represented by Heather Lowry, the president of Airport 

10 Mailers. And, Ms. Lowry, could you spell your last name for 

11 the record, please? 

12 

13 

MS. LOWRY: Yes. L-o-w-r-y. 

JUDGE SULLIVAN: Thank you. Also present on the 

14 line is Mr. F. Hanzel, who has been acting in a limited 

3 

15 capacity as counsel for the respondent, Airport Mailers, Inc. 

16 Mr. Hanzel, you were about to tell us before we went on the 

17 record what the capacity or the limitations of your 

18 representation have been or continue to be. Could you 

19 expound on that, please? 

20 MR. HANZEL: Yes, Your Honor. On August 14, 2013, 

21 our firm was retained by Airport Mailers to draft a letter 

22 requesting that a hearing be scheduled to address a proposed 

Diversified Reporting Services, Inc. 
4 

1 civil penalty in this matter. In that letter, we stated our 

2 representation was only limited to drafting of the 

3 aforementioned letter as Airport Mailers, Inc.'s counsel, Mr. 

4 John L. Wright, was unavailable due to an unforeseen personal 

5 matter, which I think was a serious automobile accident 

6 involving his wife. I go on to say in my letter of September 

7 25th, "Please let this letter serve as formal notice that Mr. 

8 Wright is Airport Mailer's counsel in this matter and that we 

9 do not represent Airport Mailers, Inc.'' 

10 That's in a letter dated September 15, 2013, which 

11 refers to a letter dated August 13, 2013, which was the 

12 actual letter we referenced on the appeal. Further, on 

13 Friday, when my associate also said our representation was 

14 just drafting a request for a hearing, that Mr. John Wright 

15 is Airport Mailers' counsel in this matter and that his 

16 contact information was listed below as a 303 area code. 

17 Well, that's our explanation, and I don't know 

18 whether he's going to participate in this call or not. Maybe 

19 Ms. Lowry can --

20 JUDGE SULLIVAN: Okay. Thank you very much. 

21 Mr. Dunfee, do you have any objection to Mr. Hanzel 

22 being excused from any further proceedings today and in the 

Diversified Reporting Services, Inc. 
1 future? 

2 

3 

MR. DUNFEE: No, Your Honor. 

JUDGE SULLIVAN: Okay. And, Ms. Lowry, it's my 

4 understanding that Mr. Hanzel has been your attorney on a 

5 limited basis, but that you have not retained him to act for 

6 you in any further or future capacity in this matter. Is 

7 that correct? 

8 

9 

MS. LOWRY: That's correct. 

JUDGE SULLIVAN: Okay. Mr. Hanzel, thank you very 

5 

10 much for your explanation today and for your appearance. You 

11 are excused and you will be removed from the service list in 

12 this proceeding. 

13 

14 

15 

16 

MR. HANZEL: Thank you, Your Honor. 

JUDGE SULLIVAN: You're welcome. 

(Mr. Hanzel disconnected from the conference.) 

JUDGE SULLIVAN: I'll note that Mr. Hanzel has hung 

17 up and he's no longer participating in this proceeding. 

18 And let me turn back to you, Ms. Lowry. We did 

19 receive an e-mail from Mr. Hanzel addressed to the attorney 

20 in the office who was prepping this case for me, and it 

21 indicated that Mr. Wright would be of counsel and provided 

22 his phone number. Did you notify Mr. Wright of this action 

Diversified Reporting Services, Inc. 
1 today, or give him any of the paperwork that you received 

2 regarding this conference? 

3 MS. LOWRY: Actually, no, ma'am. We have not been 

4 able to contact our counsel since his wife was on life 

6 

5 support. However, Mr. Dunfee and I have come to an agreement 

6 that we are both satisfied with, and, unfortunately, I was 

7 traveling and didn't sign the paperwork quick enough to get 

8 to you. But as far as I know, and you can confirm this with 

9 Mr. Dunfee, that we have come to complete resolution on this 

10 issue. 

11 JUDGE SULLIVAN: Okay. I have not seen anything 

12 filed in this office, which means it's not completely 

13 resolved yet, but --

14 

15 

MS. LOWRY: Okay. 

JUDGE SULLIVAN: let me turn to Mr. Dunfee and 

16 find out what the status of that settlement agreement is. 

17 Mr. Dunfee, sir, could you answer that question? 

18 MR. DUNFEE: Yes, Your Honor. So on October 24th, 

19 Ms. Lowry informed me and sent me a letter to the effect that 

20 she was no longer going to be represented by Mr. Wright and 

21 she wanted to negotiate with me directly. Upon receiving 

22 that, we did come to a settlement agreement, and I actually 

Diversified Reporting Services, Inc. 
1 sent out the paperwork for it October 29th. And then I've 

2 been out of the country the last two weeks, and I'm waiting 

7 

3 to get that back, which I talked to Ms. Lowry about yesterday 

4 and we're to receive in the next few days. And then I will 

5 be filing a withdrawal of the complaint upon receiving the 

6 promissory note from her for the settlement. 

7 So that's the only reason why you haven't received 

8 it yet, just because in passing it hasn't been sent to our 

9 office yet. And so we are waiting until we receive the 

10 promissory note before withdrawing the complaint. 

11 JUDGE SULLIVAN: Okay. Why don't we do this, then? 

12 Typically, in these situations I will postpone the Rule 16 

13 litigation conference and I'll set a date that's comfortable 

14 for the parties in terms of you expectations of an exchange 

15 of paperwork and forwarding your notice of settlement to me. 

16 I do that, in part, because sometimes settlement 

17 doesn't work, and something happens and there's a breakdown 

18 and the parties are still in litigation. And, as a result, 

19 then we need a Rule 16 litigation conference. So I err on 

20 the side of caution when I do this. 

21 That doesn't mean that I don't fully expect to get 

22 some paperwork with full resolution in this particular case. 

Diversified Reporting Services, Inc. 
8 

1 But, given what you've told me -- and let me just check in 

2 with Ms. Lowry. Ms. Lowry, have you already sent out the 

3 paperwork to Mr. Dunfee? Is it basically en route to him 

4 now? 

5 MS. LOWRY: Yes, it was notarized yesterday. It 

6 was sent overnight mail. He'll have it in his office by noon 

7 today. 

8 JUDGE SULLIVAN: Okay. So, Mr. Dunfee, let's talk 

9 about your calendar availability. And given the fact that 

10 you've been out of the office and Thanksgiving's coming up, 

11 when do you think would be a good postponement time period to 

12 reset the Rule 16 in the event, rare as it might be, that 

13 things don't go the way everybody hopes? 

14 MR. DUNFEE: I have no doubt that it will be 

15 resolved; but, just in case, anytime in December is fairly 

16 

17 

open for me, except the week of the 9th. I will be at 

hearing in Nashville. But, other than that, anytime in 

18 December I'm willing to set. And, again, I do think I will 

19 be filing that notice of withdrawal within the next few days. 

20 JUDGE SULLIVAN: Okay. Ms. Lowry, what about the 

21 week of December 15th through the 21st? 

22 MS. LOWRY: I'm totally available. 

Diversified Reporting Services, Inc. 
9 

1 JUDGE SULLIVAN: Okay. Why don't we plan on 

2 setting this for 10:30 in the morning on December 17th, 2013; 

3 and, if I get the notice of withdrawal from Mr. Dunfee, I 

4 will issue an order dismissing the proceeding and canceling 

5 the December 17, 2013, conference, so that everybody's 

6 notified that I've taken action to cancel the new conference. 

7 So Mr. Dunfee, starting with you, is December 17, 2013, at 

8 10:30 a.m. acceptable? 

9 

10 

MR. DUNFEE: That's fine, Your Honor. 

JUDGE SULLIVAN: Okay. And, Ms. Lowry, I heard 

11 from you that it was okay as well. Is that correct? 

12 

13 

MS. LOWRY: Yes, that is correct. 

JUDGE SULLIVAN: Okay. Then the only other thing I 

14 would suggest to both of you is, if in the future you have a 

15 similar circumstance that arises, it probably would be very 

16 helpful if you notify me through my attorney that you are in 

17 the process of settling the matter, and that you simply want 

18 an agreed postponement of the Rule 16 conference. And the 

19 way to do that that's fast, easy, and inexpensive is to 

20 simply look at your calendars, figure out three, different 

21 alternative dates that you both would be available that has a 

22 comfortable margin for you in terms of getting all your 

Diversified Reporting Services, Inc. 
1 paperwork exchanged and signed, and then contacting the 

2 attorney who works with me, Mr. Smith, and letting him know 

3 that you would like a continuance, because you're in the 

4 process of settlement. 

5 And he can expedite something like that for you 

6 fairly quickly. And that way you don't have to appear at a 

7 conference like this and then tell me in person, because we 

8 do have these kinds of things happen on occasion and we're 

10 

9 trying to set up a system so that you can streamline your own 

10 process as well. 

11 With that, Mr. Dunfee, is there anything else that 

12 we can address for you and your client today? 

13 MR. DUNFEE: No, Your Honor. I appreciate your 

14 time. 

15 JUDGE SULLIVAN: Okay. Thank you. 

16 Ms. Lowry, anything we can address for you and your 

17 client at this time? 

18 MS. LOWRY: No. I don't. And I appreciate it, and 

19 I apologize for wasting your time, because I just didn't get 

20 this back in time. Mr. Dunfee and I were both traveling in 

21 different areas, and we just didn't get our paperwork 

22 together. And I take full responsibility for that, but we 

Diversified Reporting Services, Inc. 
11 

1 have signed-off on the agreement. So I'm confident that 

2 we're okay. 

3 JUDGE SULLIVAN: Congratulations on your agreement, 

4 and I don't consider it a waste of my time. But I do have 

5 lots of things going on, and it's helpful if I have parties 

6 let me know in advance, and then I can take care of you 

7 without having you all appear before me, and without the FAA 

8 hiring and paying for a court reporter. I think I'm just 

9 thinking in terms of everybody. 

10 

11 

12 

MS. LOWRY: Yes. 

JUDGE SULLIVAN: So I appreciate that and I 

appreciate your apology. Thank you very much. I know it 

13 won't happen again, and it may be that we'll never see you 

14 here again, so. 

15 

16 

17 

MS. LOWRY: That is my life-long goal. 

JUDGE SULLIVAN: All right. Well, thank you all 

very much for your presence today. I'm going to wish you all 

18 a happy holiday. With that we can go off the record and I 

19 wish you all a good day, too. Thank you. 

20 

21 

22 

MR. DUNFEE: Enjoy the holidays, Your Honor. 

JUDGE SULLIVAN: All right. Thank you. Bye-bye. 

MS. LOWRY: Thank you. Happy holidays. Bye-bye. 

Diversified Reporting Services, Inc. 
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1 (The scheduling conference was concluded at 11:14 

2 a.m. to resume on December 17, 2013.) 

Diversified Reporting Services, Inc.