.. 

SERVED: August 21, 2013 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

OFFICE OF HEARINGS 

WASHINGTON, DC 

IN THE MATTER OF 

ABO SUPPLY LLC 

FAA DOCKET NO. [TO BE ASSIGNED] 

(Civil Penalty Action) 

FDMS NO. FAA 2013-0713 

PROCEDURAL ORDER 

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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 ofthe 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(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 CFR § 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 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 http://www.regulations.gov. For additional information see: http://dms.dot~gov. 

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: 

hllp: 1/wwwfaa. govl about/ o.ffice_ ... org/headquart ers _ qffices/ age/pol_ aqjudication/ agc4 001 civ il__penaltyl; see 

also: http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov!cgi/t/text/text-idx? c=ecfr&tpl=!ecfrbrowse/Titlel4/ 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-FAA database. For additional 

information, see the Web site. 

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

answer. 

Under FAA Order 2150.38 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 (14 C.F.R. §13.16 {n) (1)). 

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] (Patricia.Matthews@dot.gov). 

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

following procedural schedule: 

· 1. Venue shall be Houston, TX.; 

2. On or before December 1, 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 

December 1, 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 offavoring 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)i 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 ofthe 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. 

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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. 

Richard C. Goodwin 

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 the consent of the administrative law 

judge. 1fan 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 under this subpart with prejudice." 

6 See: In the Matter of Lewis Drake & Associates, FAA Docket No. CP03S00045, OMS. 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 I. 

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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 2W1 0001 

Scott L. Johnston, Respondent's Counsel 

Givens & Johnston, PLLC 

950 Echo Lane, Suite 360 

Houston, TX 77024-2788 

TEL: 713-932-1540 

FAX: 713-932-1542 

WATTS: 800-285-8042 

ONE COPY 

EMAIL: sjohnston@givensjohnston.com 

James Archier, Complainant's Counsel 

Attorney, Office ofthe Regional Counsel 

Southwest Region, ASW -7 

,Federal Aviation Administration 

2601 Meacham Blvd., Suite 679 

Fort Worth, TX 76137 

TEL: 817-222-5074 

FAX: 817-222-5945/5092 

The Honorable Richard C. Goodwin, Administrative Law Judge 

Office ofHearings, M-20 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

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

Washington, DC 20590 

TEL: 202-366-2139 Attorney-Advisor 

202-3 66-5121 Legal Assistant 

FAX: 202-366-7536 

FDMS Nos. FAA-2013-0713 

(Civil Penalty Action) 

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 2Wl000, Washington, 

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

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