OAH
Docket No. 3-2500-15169-2
PUC Docket No. PT-6182/M-02-1503
STATE
OF MINNESOTA
OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS
FOR THE MINNESOTA PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
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In the Matter of the Petition by RCC Minnesota, Inc. and Wireless Alliance, LLC, for Designation as an Eligible Telecommunications Carrier Under 47 U.S.C. § 214(e)(2)
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This matter came on for a prehearing conference before Administrative Law Judge Kathleen D. Sheehy on November 12, 2002, at the Small Hearing Room of the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, 121 Seventh Place East, Suite 350, St. Paul, Minnesota. The following persons appeared:
Scott J. Bergs, Esq., Leonard, Street and Deinard, Suite 2300, 150 South Fifth Street, Minneapolis, MN 55402, on behalf of RCC Minnesota, Inc. and Wireless Alliance, LLC.
Linda S. Jensen, Assistant Attorney General, 525 Park Street, Suite 200, St. Paul, MN 55103-2106, on behalf of the Department of Commerce (the Department).
Eric F. Swanson, Winthrop & Weinstine, 3200 Minnesota World Trade Center, 30 East Seventh Street, St. Paul, MN 55101, on behalf of the Minnesota Independent Coalition (the MIC).
Kevin Saville, Associate General Counsel, Citizens Communications, 2378 Wilshire Boulevard, Mound, MN 55364, on behalf of Citizens Telecommunications Company of Minnesota, Inc., (Citizens) and Frontier Communications of Minnesota, Inc. (Frontier).
Lillian Brion, Analyst, Public Utilities Commission, 121 Seventh Place East, Suite 350, St. Paul, MN 55101-2147, on behalf of the staff of the Commission.
1. The parties to this matter as named in the Commission's Order Requiring Additional Filing, Varying Time Period and Notice and Order for Hearing of November 4, 2002, are RCC Minnesota, Wireless Alliance, Citizens, Frontier, the MIC, and the Department.
2. The final date for filing Petitions to Intervene is November 19, 2002. Any persons petitioning to intervene after that date may be restricted as to the scope of their participation.
3. Any person allowed to intervene in this proceeding after the date of this Order shall be bound by the terms of this Order.
4. The following schedule is adopted:
RCC's supplemental filing--November 15, 2002.
Direct testimony of RCC--December 12, 2002.
Reply testimony of other parties--January 17, 2003.
Rebuttal testimony of other parties--February 7, 2003.
Surrebuttal testimony of other parties--February 18, 2003.
Hearing--February 25-28, 2003, 9:30 a.m., Commission hearing rooms.
Briefs--March 21, 2003.
Reply briefs--March 28, 2003.
ALJ report--April 21, 2003.
Exceptions to report--May 2, 2003.
Replies to exceptions--May 9, 2003.
Final PUC Resolution--June 6, 2003.[1]
5. Prefiled testimony and exhibits may be in any reasonable format that is understandable, logically organized, and capable of being cited by page and line number, paragraph number, or similar identifier.
6. All documents filed, including prefiled testimony, but excluding information requests and responses, shall be filed as follows:
a) Before the Administrative Law Judge's Report is issued, the parties shall file the original plus ONE paper copy of all documents with the Administrative Law Judge. The original of any prefiled testimony will be marked as an exhibit at the hearing.
b) After the Administrative Law Judge's Report is issued, the parties shall file the original of all documents with the Executive Secretary of the Commission.
c) Copies of all documents shall be served on the persons listed on the attached service list, in the number indicated. An electronic copy shall also be sent by email to persons whose email address is provided on the service list. The list will be revised as necessary by the Office of Administrative Hearings. Service shall be made according to the most current service list provided to the parties by the Office of Administrative Hearings.
d) Pursuant to Minn. R. 1400.5100, subp. 9, and Minn. R. 7829.0400, subp. 1, the effective date of filing shall be the date the document is mailed to the Office of Administrative Hearings or delivered to the Executive Secretary of the Commission.
e) Proof of service shall be filed with each filed document or within three business days thereafter.
7. One copy of any document or information filed with or supplied to the Commission or the Commission staff shall be served upon every party.
8. All requests for information shall be made in writing to the person from whom the information is sought with a copy of the request mailed to all parties of record. The party responding to the information request shall provide the information requested to the requesting party within eight business days after receipt of the request. There shall be a continuing obligation to update and supplement information responses. The information need not be supplied as a matter of course to all other parties unless specifically requested by a party. Information requests received after 3:00 p.m. on business days or on weekends or State holidays shall be considered to be received on the following business day, except that any U.S. Mail received during business hours shall be considered to be received on the same day.
9. In the event the information cannot be supplied within the eight business days, the responding party shall notify the requesting party as soon as reasonably possible in advance of the deadline of the reasons for not being able to supply the information and to work out a schedule of compliance with the requesting party. All disputes concerning the reasonableness of discovery requests and the timing and sufficiency of responses shall be resolved by the Administrative Law Judge upon motion of a party. Notice of such a motion should be made by email if possible and may be made be heard by telephone conference among the Administrative Law Judge and affected parties.
10. Parties asked to provide "Confidential Information" may require the requesting party to comply with the terms of the Protective Agreement and Order in this matter.
11. Further discovery may be had in accordance with Minn. R. 1400.6700 - 1400.6900 insofar as those provisions do not alter the special process for this proceeding established by this Order.
12. Prefiled testimony shall be marked and received as exhibits. Prefiled testimony that is amended or that is not offered into the record shall be considered withdrawn and the sponsoring witness may not be cross-examined concerning the withdrawn testimony. Except for cause shown, all substantive revisions or corrections to any prefiled testimony shall be made in writing and served upon the Administrative Law Judge and the parties by email no later than three days before the evidentiary hearing starts.
13. Except for good cause shown, any new affirmative matter that is not offered in reply to another party's direct or rebuttal evidence shall not be offered in rebuttal or surrebuttal testimony and exhibits. However, the parties may raise in rebuttal or surrebuttal testimony affirmative matters in response to new issues that arise on cross-examination during the course of the evidentiary hearing.
14. Unless the parties agree otherwise, the order of testimony and questioning in the evidentiary hearings shall be: RCC Minnesota, MIC, Citizens and Frontier, and the Department.
15. Witnesses shall be allowed ten minutes to summarize and update their prefiled testimony. Additional time may be allowed if necessary to respond to new issues raised by other parties if no response was previously allowed.
16. Parties shall examine and cross-examine witnesses through their attorneys, if they are represented by counsel. Any party not represented by counsel may examine and cross-examine each witness through any one representative chosen by the party.
17. Except for good cause shown, objections by any party relating to the qualifications of a witness or the admissibility of any portion of a witness's prefiled testimony shall be considered waived unless the objecting party states in writing its objection with particularity to the Administrative Law Judge and serves a copy of such objections on the Commission and all other parties prior to commencement of the evidentiary hearing. If an objection is made by a party, the party shall be permitted to lay further foundation for the objection through cross-examination of the witness. Any prefiled testimony that is not objected to shall be admitted during the evidentiary hearings without the necessity of laying foundation for the testimony.
Dated this _____ day of July, 2003
/s/ Kathleen D. Sheehy
_____________________________
KATHLEEN D. SHEEHY
Administrative Law Judge
[1] If RCC Minnesota's Supplemental Filing is received by the Commission on November 15, 2002, the 180-day period for the Commission to complete its review would end May 14, 2003. The schedule described above includes an extension agreed to by RCC Minnesota to accommodate schedules over the holidays.