Opinion ID: 519601
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Improper Grant of Judgment on the Pleadings

Text: 25 Kolek's final two procedural arguments concern the ALJ's granting of the FAA's motion for judgment on the pleadings. He argues that judgment on the pleadings was inappropriate because he filed an answer before the FAA filed its motion. He also attacks the order granting judgment on the pleadings as defective because it contains no findings of fact or conclusions of law. 26 First, 49 C.F.R. Sec. 821.17(b) (1987) authorizes judgment on the pleadings in two separate situations: where no answer to the FAA's complaint is filed or where no material and disputed issues of fact remain. As explained above, no disputed issues of fact regarding Kolek's violation of FAR Sec. 61.15(a) or the propriety of revocation remained for resolution. Thus, the NTSB could reasonably have concluded that the granting of judgment on the pleadings was proper even though Kolek had filed an answer. 27 Second, although the regulations require the articulation of findings of fact and conclusions of law in an initial decision by the ALJ, 49 C.F.R. Sec. 821.42(b) (1987), neither Kolek nor our research has shown any authority similarly restricting the contents of an order granting judgment on the pleadings. The NTSB's refusal to dismiss on this ground was not arbitrary, irrational, or an abuse of discretion.