2700.5—General requirements for pleadings and other documents; status or informational requests.

(a) Jurisdiction. A proposal for a penalty under section 110, 30 U.S.C. 820; an answer to a notice of contest of a citation or withdrawal order issued under section 104, 30 U.S.C. 814; an answer to a notice of contest of an order issued under section 107, 30 U.S.C. 817; a complaint issued under section 105(c) or 111, 30 U.S.C. 815(c) and 821; and an application for temporary reinstatement under section 105(c)(2), 30 U.S.C. 815(c)(2), shall allege that the violation or imminent danger took place in or involves a mine that has products which enter commerce or has operations or products that affect commerce. Jurisdictional facts that are alleged are deemed admitted unless specifically denied in a responsive pleading.

(b) Where to file. Unless otherwise provided for in the Act, these rules, or by order:

(1) Until a Judge has been assigned to a case, all documents shall be filed with the Commission. Documents filed with the Commission shall be addressed to the Executive Director and mailed or delivered to the Docket Office, Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission, 601 New Jersey Avenue, NW., Suite 9500, Washington, DC 20001; facsimile delivery as allowed by these rules (see section 2700.5(e) ), shall be transmitted to (202) 434-9954.

(2) After a Judge has been assigned, and before a decision has been issued, documents shall be filed with the Judge at the address set forth on the notice of the assignment.

(3) Documents filed in connection with interlocutory review shall be filed with the Commission in accordance with section 2700.76.

(4) After the Judge has issued a final decision, documents shall be filed with the Commission as described in paragraph (b)(1) of this section.

(c) Necessary information. All documents shall be legible and shall clearly identify on the cover page the filing party by name. All documents shall be dated and shall include the assigned docket number, page numbers, and the filing person's address, business telephone number, cell telephone number if available, fax number if available, and e-mail address if available. Written notice of any change in contact information shall be given promptly to the Commission or the Judge and all other parties.

(d) Privacy considerations. Persons submitting information to the Commission shall protect information that tends to identify certain individuals or tends to constitute an unwarranted intrusion of personal privacy in the following manner:

(1) All but the last four digits of social security numbers, financial account numbers, driver's license numbers, or other personal identifying numbers, shall be redacted or excluded;

(2) Minor children shall be identified only by initials;

(3) If dates of birth must be included, only the year shall be used;

(4) Parties shall exercise caution when filing medical records, medical treatment records, medical diagnosis records, employment history, and individual financial information, and shall redact or exclude certain materials unnecessary to a disposition of the case.

(e) Manner and effective date of filing. Unless otherwise provided for in the Act, these rules, or by order:

(1) Documents may be filed with a Judge or the Commission by any means of delivery a party chooses, including facsimile transmission. With the exception of documents filed pursuant to §§ 2700.70 (Petitions for discretionary review), 2700.45 (Temporary reinstatement proceedings), 2700.24 (Emergency response plan dispute proceedings), or Subpart F (Applications for temporary relief), documents filed by facsimile transmission shall not exceed 15 pages, excluding the facsimile cover sheet. Parties filing by facsimile are also required to file the original document with the Judge or Commission within 3 days of the facsimile transmission.

(2) When filing is by personal delivery or facsimile, filing is effective upon successful receipt by the Commission. When filing is by mail, filing is effective upon mailing, except that the filing of a motion for extension of time, any document in an emergency response plan dispute proceeding, a petition for review of a temporary reinstatement order, a motion for summary decision, a petition for discretionary review, a motion to exceed page limit is effective upon receipt. See §§ 2700.9(a), 2700.24(d), 2700.45(f), 2700.67(a), 2700.70(a), (f), and 2700.75(f).

(f) Number of copies. In cases before a Judge, unless otherwise ordered, the original document, along with one copy for each docket, shall be filed; in cases before the Commission, the original and six copies shall be filed; but if the filing party is not represented by a lawyer, the original shall be sufficient. When filing is by facsimile transmission, the original must be filed with the Judge or Commission within 3 days of the facsimile transmission, but no additional copies should be filed.

(g) Form of pleadings. All printed material shall appear in at least 12-point type on paper 8 1/2 by 11 inches in size, with margins of at least 1 inch on all four sides. Text and footnotes shall appear in the same size type. Text shall be double spaced. Headings and footnotes may be single spaced. Quotations of 50 words or more may be single spaced and indented left and right. Excessive footnotes are prohibited. The failure to comply with the requirements of this paragraph or the use of compacted or otherwise compressed printing features may be grounds for rejection of a pleading.

(h) Citation to a decision of a Judge. Each citation to a decision of a Judge should include “(ALJ)” at the end of the citation.

(i) Status or informational requests. Any inquiries concerning filing requirements, the status of cases before the Commission, or docket information shall be directed to the Office of General Counsel or the Docket Office of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission, 601 New Jersey Avenue, NW., Suite 9500, Washington, DC 20001.

Code of Federal Regulations

[58 FR 12164, Mar. 3, 1993, as amended at 64 FR 48712, Sept. 8, 1999; 67 FR 60862, Sept. 27, 2002; 71 FR 44206, Aug. 4, 2006; 71 FR 54905, Sept. 20, 2006; 72 FR 2191, Jan. 18, 2007; 75 FR 21989, Apr. 27, 2010; 75 FR 73957, Nov. 30, 2010; 75 FR 81462, Dec. 28, 2010]

CFR

2700.5—General requirements for pleadings and other documents; status or informational requests.

Code of Federal Regulations