OAR 115-010-0068: Prehearing Procedures

(1) The Board or Board Agent may convene prehearing conferences with the parties' representatives for the purpose of: (a) Scheduling hearing dates, witnesses for hearing and further prehearing conferences; (b) Disposing of pending motions; (c) Formulating and simplifying issues; (d) Discussing settlement of any or all of the issues; (e) Avoiding submission of unnecessary or cumulative exhibits or other evidence; (f) Stipulating to facts; (g) Discussing the need for any special hearing procedures; (h) Discussing reasonable access to exhibits during the hearing, including steps to ensure access for remote witnesses; and (i) Discussing any other matters that may assist in the disposition of the matter. (2) At the discretion of the Board or Board Agent, the prehearing conference may be held by telephone or in person and may be recorded. (3) Witness and Exhibit Lists: (a) Each party shall provide a witness list and exhibit list to the other parties and to the Board or Board Agent. (b) These documents must be received no later than seven days before the scheduled hearing, unless the Board or Board Agent directs otherwise. (4) Exhibits: (a) A party intending to offer exhibits shall, where practicable, have them marked for identification. A party offering exhibits shall provide electronic copies to any other party and the Board or Board Agent by seven days before the hearing, unless another date is set by the Board or Board Agent. The Board or Board Agent may direct the parties regarding the formatting of exhibits. A failure to comply with this subparagraph shall result in the exhibit not being admitted, unless good cause is shown. (b) A party offering exhibits in a remote hearing is not required to provide paper copies of exhibits unless directed by the Board or Board Agent. A party offering exhibits in an in-person hearing shall provide paper copies to any other party and to the witness before seeking its admission into evidence and shall provide a paper copy to the Board or Board Agent if directed by the Board or Board Agent. (c) Nothing in this rule shall operate to exclude offering rebuttal evidence, to which any other party may object. Admissibility will be subject to the discretion of the Board or Board Agent. (d) A party seeking to offer a physical object other than a document shall provide a photograph of that object, which will be received in lieu of the object. A copy of the photograph must be provided to any other party. (e) A party relying on voluminous or bulky documents shall provide the Board or Board Agent and any other party with written excerpts of matters therein that are being relied on. (f) A party wishing to submit a transcript of an audio recording as an exhibit must also submit a notarized statement from the transcriptionist that the document is a verbatim transcript of the audio recording. A copy of the audio recording and transcript must be provided to any other party no less than seven days before the first day of hearing. (5) A party that fails to comply with prehearing requirements set forth in the rule or ordered by the Board or Board Agent shall be denied the right to offer such evidence or make an argument regarding such matter at the hearing unless good cause is shown. (6) The Board or Board Agent may rule before hearing on one or more of the claims or defenses, or a portion of any claim or defense, asserted in a complaint or answer. The Board or Board Agent may defer issuing a proposed order on any such prehearing ruling until after a hearing is held and a Recommended Order is issued on remaining claims or defenses.