Iowa Administrative Code › Agency 875 - Labor Services Division › Elevators, Escalators, and Related Equipment › Chapter 69 - Contested Cases Before the Elevator Safety Board › Rule 875-69.25 - Ex Parte Communication

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 3, July 24, 2024
(1)
				Prohibited communications. Unless required for the disposition of ex parte
				matters specifically authorized by statute, following issuance of the notice of
				hearing, there shall be no communication, directly or indirectly, between the
				presiding officer and any party or representative of any party or any other
				person with a direct or indirect interest in such case in connection with any
				issue of fact or law in the case except upon notice and opportunity for all
				parties to participate. Nothing in this rule is intended to preclude board
				members from communicating with other board members or members of the board
				staff, other than those with a personal interest in, or those engaged in
				personally investigating, prosecuting, or advocating in, either the case imder
				consideration or a pending factually related case involving the same parties,
				as long as those persons do not directly or indirectly communicate to the
				presiding officer any ex parte communications they have received of a type that
				the presiding officer would be prohibited from receiving or that furnish,
				augment, diminish, or modify the evidence in the record.
(2) Prohibitions on ex parte communications
				commence with the issuance of the notice of hearing in a contested case and
				continue for as long as the case is pending before the board.
(3) Written, oral or other forms of
				communication are "ex parte" if made without notice and opportunity for all
				parties to participate.
(4) To
				avoid prohibited ex parte communications, notice must be given in a manner
				reasonably calculated to give all parties a fair opportunity to participate.
				Notice of written communications shall be provided and may be supplemented by
				telephone, facsimile, electronic mail or other means of notification. Where
				permitted, oral communications may be initiated through conference telephone
				call including all parties or their representatives.
(5) Persons who jointly act as presiding
				officer in a pending contested case may communicate with each other without
				notice or opportunity for parties to participate.
(6) Communications with the presiding officer
				involving uncontested scheduling or procedural matters do not require notice or
				opportunity for parties to participate. Parties should notify other parties
				prior to initiating such contact with the presiding officer when feasible, and
				shall notify other parties when seeking to continue hearings or other
				deadlines.
a. If the presiding officer
				determines that disqualification is warranted, the following shall be submitted
				for inclusion in the record under seal by protective order:
(1) A copy of any prohibited written
				communication,
(2) All written
				responses to the communication,
(3)
				A written summary stating the substance of any prohibited oral or other
				communication not available in written form and all responses made,
				and
(4) The identity of each person
				from whom the presiding officer received a prohibited ex parte communication;
				or