Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 211 CMR - DIVISION OF INSURANCE › Title 211 CMR 79.00 - Private Passenger Motor Vehicle Insurance Rates › Section 79.12 - Conduct of the Hearing

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
(1)
Ex Parte
Communications
. From the initiation of a hearing
			 subject to
			 211 CMR 79.00 until the
			 rendering of a final decision, no person who is not employed by the Division
			 shall communicate
ex parte
with the Commissioner or Presiding
			 Officers with respect to the substance of that proceeding; provided that a
			 request for a report concerning the status of a proceeding or an inquiry as to
			 the Division's practice or procedure shall not be prohibited. If the
			 Commissioner or Presiding Officer determines that a Party or his agent has
			 violated 211 CMR 79.12(1), he or she may exclude the Party from the hearing or
			 decide against the Party with prejudice. If the Presiding Officer determines
			 that a person not a Party has violated 211 CMR 79.12(1), he or she may exclude
			 that person from the hearing.
(2)
Motions
. The Presiding Officer may make rulings
			 regarding the admissibility of evidence or any other matter which may arise
			 during a hearing. Any Party making application to the Presiding Officer for a
			 ruling on any issue other than the admissibility of evidence shall do so by
			 motion which shall state the ruling sought and the grounds therefor. The
			 Presiding Officer may require that a motion be presented in writing. The
			 Presiding Officer may, in his or her discretion, hear oral argument on a motion
			 prior to making a decision thereon.
(3)
Objections to
			 Rulings
. At the time that the Presiding Officer makes a ruling,
			 any Party shall make known any objection to the ruling and his grounds,
			 provided that if a Party has no opportunity to object to a ruling at the time
			 it is made, such Party may, within three days of receipt of the ruling, state
			 in writing any objection and the grounds.
(4)
Official Notice
.
			 The Presiding Officer may take official notice of any fact which may be
			 judicially noticed by the courts of Massachusetts, and in addition, may take
			 official notice of general, technical or scientific facts within the Presiding
			 Officer's specialized knowledge or information contained in documents filed
			 with the Division; provided that the Presiding Officer shall notify all Parties
			 of the material so noticed, and provided further that any Party, upon timely
			 request, shall be afforded an opportunity to contest the facts so
			 noticed.
(5)
Evidence
. The Presiding Officer need not observe the
			 rules of evidence observed by the courts of the United States or of
			 Massachusetts, but shall observe the rules of privilege recognized by
			 Massachusetts law. Evidence may be admitted and given probative effect only if
			 it is the kind of evidence on which reasonable persons are accustomed to rely
			 in the conduct of serious affairs. The Presiding Officer may exclude testimony
			 or evidence which is determined to be unduly repetitious or to have an
			 unreasonably dilatory effect upon the hearing process. All evidence, including
			 any documents in the possession of the Division of which the Presiding Officer
			 desires to rely on in making a decision, shall be offered and made a part of
			 the record in the hearing.
(6)
Cross-examination and Rebuttal Evidence
. A Party shall
			 have the right to call and examine witnesses, to cross-examine witnesses, and
			 to submit affirmative and rebuttal evidence.
(7)
Offers of Proof
.
			 Any offer of proof made in conjunction with an objection to a ruling by the
			 Presiding Officer rejecting or excluding evidence shall consist of a statement
			 of the substance of the evidence which the Party making such offer contends
			 would be adduced by the testimony, and if the rejected or excluded evidence
			 consists of documents or of references to documents, a copy of such documents
			 shall be marked for identification and shall constitute the offer of
			 proof.
(8)
Oral
			 Argument
. The Presiding Officer may, either on the officer's own
			 motion or on the motion of any Party, allow and designate time for the
			 presentation of opening and closing arguments.
(9)
Transcripts
. All
			 proceedings in a hearing shall be officially recorded and transcribed by a
			 reporter approved by the Division. The Filer shall pay the cost of the
			 reporter's fees, together with the cost of providing the Division with a copy
			 of the transcript. Other entities may obtain copies of the transcript from the
			 reporter at cost.
(10)
Briefs
. At the Presiding Officer's discretion, a Party
			 may submit a brief within such time as the Presiding Officer shall specify. A
			 Party which desires additional time in which to file a brief may request an
			 extension by written motion within the period specified. Each Party who files a
			 brief shall submit two copies to the Division, except where a different number
			 is permitted or directed by the Presiding Officer, and shall serve one copy on
			 all other Parties.
(11)
Burden of Proof
. In any hearing conducted under M.G.L.
			 c. 175E, the burden shall be on the Filer to justify that the Rate Filing
			 complies with M.G.L. c. 175E; M.G.L. c. 175A and
			 211 CMR 79.00.