SERVED: FEBRUARY 22, 2013 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

OFFICE OF HEARINGS 

WASHINGTON, DC 

IN THE MATTER OF 

AERO-WELD, INC .. 

FAA DOCKET NO. [TO BE ASSIGNED] 

(Civil Penalty Action) 

FDMS NO. FAA-2012- 0909 

PROCEDURAL ORDER 

~:.J l J F 1~. ~1' ·_7 _r_.-_ .• 

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

Procedural Schedule set forth hereinbelow1

. The Rules 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 in the Complaint · 

(§13.209(£)), and that, absent agreement ofthe 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, J.1 .. C.F.R __ §_J),_~Q2 .. (~) 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 statement or allegation contained in the complaint that is 

not specifically denied in the answer may be deemed an admission of the truth of 

1 Materials filed in the FAA Hearing Docket (except for materials which are sealed) also available for 

viewing at h!J.R.l!..'>J.'!!.JY..:.r.?..gy_k!..tL9..1J§ . .gQy:.. For additional information see: !J..!fJ?..:!I.dr!!§_,d_q_f:gq_y. 

/-""·" 

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

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

http://www.faa.gov/aboutloffice _ org/headquarters _offices/age/pol_ adjudicationlagc4 00/civil _penalty!; see 

also: http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgilt/textltext-idx?c=ecfr&tpl=lecfrbrowsell'itle 14114tab _ 02.tpl. In 

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

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

information, see the Web site. 

1 
.. 

. 

v 

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 proceedings, the 

Agency attorney and the Respondent are encouraged to consider the possibility of 

settlement and compromise of this matter. 3 Compromise may be effected with or 

without a finding of violation (J4 __ C.J':J3.,, __ §.lJJ9. __ (n)__(l)). 

NOTE: This presiding Judge does not require "Discovery" be served on the 

Judge. Other Judges have different policies, but as long as this case is assigned to the 

undersigned presiding 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 ] (P._a.!fi\{_i_~t_Mfl:ttb.~F~_@d.QtgQY.). 

WHEREFORE, the parties be and are hereby ORDERED to adhere to the 

following procedural schedule: 

1. Venue shall be San Antonio, TX.; 

2. On or before April22, 2013, the parties shall conclude all discovery including, 

but not limited to, depositions, document 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 April 22, 

20134

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

time for the hearing 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: Complainant 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. v Dupuy, 856 F. 2d 

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

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

settlement negotiations. 4 14 C.F.R. § 13.221 states: "The administrative law judge shall give each party at least 60 days notice 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 

reserved 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 . d 6 JU ge .. 

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

Department of Transportation, Office ofHearings, 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. 

Richard C. Goodwin 

U.S. Administrative La':" 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 the consent of the administrative law 

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

answer, the administrative law judge shall dismiss the proceedings tmder this subpart with prejudice." 

. 

6 See: In the Matter of Lewis Drake & Associates, FAA Docket No. CP03S00045, DMS. No. FAA-2003-

16379, "Order Terminating Proceeding", served February 26, 2005; citing Kerry James Eldridge, FAA 

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

at 1. 

3 
Federal Aviation Administration 

800 Independence Avenue, S.W. 

Washington, DC 20591 

SERVICE LIST 

ORIGINAL & ONE COPY 

Attention: Hearing Docket Clerk, AGC-430 

Wilbur Wright Building- Suite 2W10004 

ONE COPY 

JeffreyS. Ruth, Respondent's Representative 

Aero-Weld, Inc., Respondent 

433 Breesport 

San Antonio, TX 78216 

TEL: 210-590-7888 

FAX: 210-366-2618 

Yolanda Ayala Bernal, Complainant's Counsel 

Office of the Regional Counsel 

Southwest Region 

Federal Aviation Administration 

2601 Meacham Blvd., Room 663 

Fort Worth, TX 76193-0007 

TEL: 817-222-5070 

FAX: 817-222-5945/5092 

FDMS No. FAA-2012-0909 

(Civil Penalty Action) 

The Honorable Ronnie A Yoder, Chief Administrative Law Judge 

U.S. Department ofTransportation 

Office ofHearings, M-20 

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

Washington, DC 20590 

TEL: 202-366-2142 

FAX: 202-366-7536 

4 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 2Wl000, Washington, 

DC 20591, Attention: Hearing Docket Clerk, AGC-430. 

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