Compilation of Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia › Department 520 - GEORGIA REAL ESTATE COMMISSION › Chapter 520-4 - PROCEDURAL RULES › Rule 520-4-.02 - General Information

Current through Rules and Regulations filed through June 27, 2024
(1) The following rules govern pre-hearing
			 and post-hearing procedures in "contested cases" pending before the Georgia
			 Real Estate Commission. The following rules do not apply to matters filed or
			 pending before the Office of State Administrative Hearings.
(2) The Commission shall maintain records
			 indicating when it received all papers relating to every proceeding to which
			 these rules apply.
(3) The office
			 of the Commission shall be open from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each week-day
			 except Saturdays, Sundays, legal holidays, and such other times as the Governor
			 shall declare state offices closed.
(4) All documents, including requests for
			 hearing or review of an initial decision, correspondence, motions, and
			 pleadings related to any matters pending before the Commission and not pending
			 before the Office of State Administrative Hearings, shall be filed with the
			 Real Estate Commissioner, whose office is located at Suite 1000, International
			 Tower, 229 Peachtree Street, N.E., Atlanta, Georgia 30303-1605. Copies shall be
			 furnished by the party filing said documents to all parties of record,
			 including the attorney representing the Commission.
(5) All communications, correspondence,
			 motions, and pleadings in any proceeding shall be deemed to be filed or
			 received on the date on which they are actually received by the
			 Commissioner.
(6) Computation of
			 any period of time referred to in these rules shall begin with the first day
			 following that on which the act which initiates such period of time occurs.
			 When the last day of the period so computed is a day on which the office of the
			 Commission is closed, the period shall run until the end of the following
			 business day. When such period of time, with the intervening Saturdays,
			 Sundays, and legal holidays counted, is seven (7) days or less, the said
			 Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays shall be excluded from the computation;
			 otherwise such days shall be included in the computation.
(7) It shall be within the discretion of the
			 Commission to extend, for good cause shown, any time limit prescribed or
			 allowed by these rules. Extensions shall be granted only when the Commission is
			 satisfied that good cause has been shown and not otherwise.
(8) Every notice, pleading, petition, motion,
			 or other document filed by a party (other than the Commission) represented by
			 an attorney shall be signed by at least one attorney of record in the
			 attorney's individual name and the attorney's address and telephone number
			 shall be stated. A party who is not represented by an attorney shall sign the
			 pleading and state the party's address and telephone number. Except when
			 otherwise specifically provided by rule or statute, pleadings need not be
			 verified or accompanied by affidavit. The signature of an attorney constitutes
			 a certificate by the attorney that the attorney has read the pleading and that
			 it is not interposed for delay.
(9)
			 No person not employed by the Commission shall communicate ex-parte with any
			 member of the Commission or any employee of the Commission involved in the
			 decisional process with respect to the merits of a contested case. If any
			 ex-parte communication is directed to any person in violation of these rules,
			 all parties shall be immediately informed of the substance of the communication
			 and the circumstances of its receipt; provided, that a request for information
			 with respect to the status of a proceeding shall not be prohibited by this
			 section.
(10) Any
			 applicant/licensee named as a petitioner/respondent in a notice of hearing
			 shall have a right to obtain a copy of the investigative record pertaining to
			 the applicant/licensee upon written request. That record shall be available to
			 the applicant/licensee or the applicant/licensee's legal counsel at the
			 Commission office during regular business hours. Charges for copies of any
			 material from the applicant/licensee's investigative file shall be at a rate of
			 $.25 per page with a minimum charge of $5.00. Any material from said
			 investigative file to be mailed shall be mailed by certified mail or statutory
			 overnight delivery, return receipt requested, at the applicant/ licensee's
			 expense.
O.C.G.A. Secs.
				43-40-2,
				43-40-3.1,
				43-40-14 to
				43-40-18,
				43-40-25,
				43-40-26,
				43-40-27,
				50-13.