West Virginia Code of State Rules › Agency 150 - Public Service Commission › Title 150 - EXEMPT LEGISLATIVE RULE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION › Series 150-38 - Rules for the Government of Pole Attachments › Section 150-38-17 - Formal Complaint Procedure - General pleading requirements

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 28, July 12, 2024
17.1. The
				following procedural rules, Rules 17 through 31, apply to the formal complaint
				proceedings brought under the Pole Attachment Rules. Pole attachment formal
				complaint proceedings are generally resolved on a written record consisting of
				a complaint, answer, reply, and joint statement of stipulated facts, disputed
				facts and key legal issues, along with all associated evidence in the record.
				The Commission may also require or permit other written submissions such as
				briefs, proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law, or other supplemental
				documents or pleadings.
17.2.
				Pleadings must be clear, concise, and direct. All matters concerning a claim,
				defense or requested remedy, including damages, should be pleaded fully and
				with specificity.
17.3. Pleadings
				must contain facts which, if true, are sufficient to constitute a violation of
				the Pole Attachment Act or a Commission rule or order, or a defense to an
				alleged violation.
17.4. Averred
				facts, claims, or defenses shall be made in numbered paragraphs and must be
				supported by relevant evidence. The contents of each paragraph shall be limited
				as far as practicable to a statement of a single set of circumstances. Each
				claim founded on a separate transaction or occurrence and each affirmative
				defense shall be separately stated to facilitate the clear presentation of the
				matters set forth. Assertions based on information and belief are prohibited
				unless made in good faith and accompanied by a declaration or affidavit
				explaining the basis for the party's belief and why the party could not
				reasonably ascertain the facts from any other source.
17.5. Legal arguments must be supported by
				appropriate statutory, judicial, or administrative authority.
17.6. Opposing authorities must be
				distinguished.
17.7. Copies must be
				provided of all non-Commission authorities relied upon which are not routinely
				available in national reporting systems, such as unpublished decisions or slip
				opinions of courts or administrative agencies. In addition, copies of state
				authorities relied upon shall be provided.
17.8. Parties are responsible for the
				continuing accuracy and completeness of all information and supporting
				authority furnished in a pending complaint proceeding. Information submitted,
				as well as relevant legal authorities, must be current and updated as necessary
				and in a timely manner before a decision is rendered on the merits of the
				complaint.
17.9. Specific reference
				shall be made to any tariff or contract provision relied on in support of a
				claim or defense. Copies of relevant tariffs, contracts, or relevant portions
				that are referred to or relied upon in a complaint, answer, or other pleading
				shall be appended to such pleading.
17.10. Pleadings shall identify the name,
				address, telephone number, and email address for either the filing party's
				attorney or, where a party is not represented by an attorney, the filing party.
				Pleadings may be signed by a party's attorney and shall contain the attorney's
				West Virginia Bar identification number.
17.11. All attachments shall be Bates-stamped
				or otherwise numbered sequentially. Parties shall cite to the sequential page
				numbers in their pleadings.
17.12.
				Each pleading or other submission must contain a written verification that the
				signatory has read the submission and, to the best of his or her knowledge,
				information and belief formed after reasonable inquiry, it is well-grounded in
				fact and is warranted by existing law or a good faith argument for the
				extension, modification or reversal of existing law; and that it is not
				interposed for any improper purpose, such as to harass, cause unnecessary
				delay, or needlessly increase the cost of the proceeding. If any pleading or
				other submission is signed in violation of this provision, the Commission may
				upon motion or upon its own initiative, impose appropriate sanctions.
17.13. Parties may petition the Commission
				for a waiver of any of Rules 17 through 31. Such waiver may be granted for good
				cause shown.
17.14. A complaint
				may, on request of the filing party, be dismissed without prejudice as a matter
				of right prior to the adoption date of any final action taken by the Commission
				with respect to the complaint. A request for the return of an initiating
				document will be regarded as a request for dismissal.
17.15. Amendments or supplements to
				complaints to add new claims or requests for relief are prohibited.
17.16. Failure to prosecute a complaint will
				be cause for dismissal.
17.17. Any
				document purporting to be a formal complaint which does not state a cause of
				action under the Pole Attachment Act,
				47 U.S.C. §
										224, or a Commission rule or order, will be
				dismissed. In such case, any amendment or supplement to such document will be
				considered a new filing which must be made within any applicable statutory
				limitations of actions.
17.18. Any
				other pleading that does not conform with the requirements of these rules may
				be deemed defective. In such case the Commission may strike the pleading or
				request that specified defects be corrected and that proper pleadings be filed
				with the Commission and served on all parties within a prescribed time as a
				condition to being made a part of the record in the proceeding.
17.19. Pleadings shall be construed so as to
				do justice.
17.20. Any party that
				fails to respond to official correspondence, a request for additional
				information, or an order or directive from the Commission may be subject to
				appropriate sanctions.