Washington Administrative Code › Title 363 - Pilotage Commissioners, Board of › Chapter 363-11 - Practice and procedure - Board of pilotage commissioners › Section 363-11-280 - Depositions and interrogatories

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1) Written interrogatories. Written
			 interrogatories may be submitted in accordance with the rules of this chapter,
			 which may become a part of the record of proceedings upon a motion made by one
			 of the parties. Parties shall have sixty days to respond to
			 interrogatories.
(2) Depositions
			 and interrogatories in hearings brought pursuant to WAC
			 363-116-083 and
			 363-116-084. The board and the
			 exam committee shall be required to produce for depositions no more than a
			 total of three fact witnesses (two board/committee members, one test
			 developer), and no more than one expert witness, in connection with any hearing
			 requested pursuant to WAC
			 363-116-083 and
			 363-116-084, unless the board's
			 chair, in his/her sole discretion, determines that additional witnesses are
			 necessary. If the petitioner asserts that there is a necessity for additional
			 witnesses, he/she must demonstrate to the presiding officer that "exceptional
			 circumstances" exist and that such information cannot be obtained through other
			 means in order to increase the number of witnesses.
No more than five written interrogatories (including subparts)
				in total may be submitted to other board and/or exam committee members, which
				may then be submitted as a part of the record of proceedings upon a motion duly
				made.
The scope of the deposition and interrogatories shall be
				limited to those issues set forth in WAC
				363-116-083(5)
				 and 363-116-084(5)
				 and shall not include inquiry into the mental processes of a board or committee
				member concerning their decision making processes once a decision has been made
				and a written explanation has been provided. A written explanation may be in
				the form of a written recommendation, board or committee meeting minutes,
				performance evaluations, correspondence to the petitioner, and/or other
				documents submitted to the board as a part of the decision making
				process.
(3) Depositions
			 and interrogatories in hearings brought pursuant to WAC
			 363-116-086.
(a) Board/TEC witnesses - The board and the
			 trainee evaluation committee (TEC) shall be required to produce no more than a
			 total of two fact witnesses (one board witness, one TEC witness) and no more
			 than one expert witness in support of its decisions made pursuant to WAC
			 363-116-080, unless the chair, in
			 his/her sole discretion, determines that additional witnesses are necessary. If
			 the petitioner asserts that there is a necessity for additional witnesses,
			 he/she must demonstrate to the presiding officer that "exceptional
			 circumstances" exist and that such information cannot be obtained through other
			 means in order to increase the number of witnesses.
No more than five written interrogatories (including subparts)
				in total may be submitted to other board and/or TEC members, which may then be
				submitted as a part of the record of proceedings upon a motion duly made. The
				scope of the deposition and interrogatories will be limited as set forth in WAC
				363-116-086(3)(b) and
				(c)  and shall not include inquiry into the
				mental processes of a board or committee member concerning their decision
				making processes once a decision has been made and a written explanation has
				been provided. A written explanation may be in the form of a written
				recommendation, board or committee meeting minutes, correspondence to the
				petitioner, training trip reports, training trip report summary spreadsheets,
				and/or other documents submitted to the board as a part of the decision making
				process.
(b) Training and
			 supervising pilots - The board has determined that requiring or permitting the
			 deposition of training and supervising pilots in connection with a hearing
			 pursuant to WAC
			 363-116-086 would jeopardize the
			 integrity of the training program and would stifle candid and honest
			 assessments of a trainee's performance in the training program. The training
			 and supervising pilots prepare written training trip reports for each training
			 trip. Those reports shall speak for themselves. Notwithstanding any other
			 provision in these regulations, no training or supervising pilot shall be
			 deposed, or called as a witness, in connection with a hearing brought pursuant
			 to WAC 363-116-086. Consistent with WAC
			 363-11-410, to the extent a
			 particular training trip report is considered by a party to be vague and/or
			 ambiguous, a party may seek, by way of motion, a declaration from a training or
			 supervising pilot, seeking clarification of specific issues which the party
			 believes, for good cause shown, should be clarified. Such declaration may then
			 become a part of the record of proceedings.