Sec. 22.129  Agreements to dismiss applications, amendments or 
          pleadings.

    Parties that have filed an application in the Public Mobile Services 
that is mutually exclusive with one or more other applications, and then 
enter into an agreement to resolve the mutual exclusivity by withdrawing 
or requesting dismissal of the application or an amendment thereto, must 
obtain the approval of the FCC. Parties that have filed or threatened to 
file a petition to deny, informal objection or other pleading against a 
pending application in the Public Mobile Services and then seek to 
withdraw or request dismissal of, or refrain from filing, the petition, 
either unilaterally or in exchange for a financial consideration, must 
obtain the approval of the FCC.
    (a) The party withdrawing or requesting dismissal of its 
application, petition to deny, informal objection or other pleading or 
refraining from filing a pleading must submit to the FCC a request for 
approval of the withdrawal or dismissal, a copy of any written agreement 
related to the withdrawal or dismissal, and an affidavit setting forth:
    (1) A certification that neither the party nor its principals has 
received or will receive any money or other consideration in excess of 
the legitimate and prudent expenses incurred in preparing and 
prosecuting the application, petition to deny, informal objection or 
other pleading in exchange for the withdrawal or dismissal of the 
application, petition to deny, informal objection or other pleading, or 
threat to file a pleading, except that this provision does not apply to 
dismissal or withdrawal of applications pursuant to bona fide merger 
agreements;

[[Page 107]]

    (2) The exact nature and amount of any consideration received or 
promised;
    (3) An itemized accounting of the expenses for which it seeks 
reimbursement; and
    (4) The terms of any oral agreement related to the withdrawal or 
dismissal of the application, petition to deny, informal objection or 
other pleading or threat to file a pleading.
    (b) In addition, within 5 days of the filing date of the applicant's 
or petitioner's request for approval, each remaining party to any 
written or oral agreement must submit an affidavit setting forth:
    (1) A certification that neither the applicant nor its principals 
has paid or will pay money or other consideration in excess of the 
legitimate and prudent expenses of the petitioner in exchange for 
withdrawing or dismissing the application, petition to deny, informal 
objection or other pleading; and
    (2) The terms of any oral agreement relating to the withdrawal or 
dismissal of the application, petition to deny, informal objection or 
other pleading.
    (c) No person shall make or receive any payments in exchange for 
withdrawing a threat to file or refraining from filing a petition to 
deny, informal objection, or any other pleading against an application. 
For the purposes of this section, reimbursement by an applicant of the 
legitimate and prudent expenses of a potential petitioner or objector, 
incurred reasonably and directly in preparing to file a petition to 
deny, will not be considered to be payment for refraining from filing a 
petition to deny or an informal objection. Payments made directly to a 
potential petitioner or objector, or a person related to a potential 
petitioner or objector, to implement non-financial promises are 
prohibited unless specifically approved by the FCC.
    (d) For the purposes of this section:
    (1) Affidavits filed pursuant to this section must be executed by 
the filing party, if an individual, a partner having personal knowledge 
of the facts, if a partnership, or an officer having personal knowledge 
of the facts, if a corporation or association.
    (2) Applications, petitions to deny, informal objections and other 
pleadings are deemed to be pending before the FCC from the time the 
application or petition to deny is filed with the FCC until such time as 
an order of the FCC granting, denying or dismissing the application, 
petition to deny, informal objection or other pleading is no longer 
subject to reconsideration by the FCC or to review by any court.
    (3) ``Legitimate and prudent expenses'' are those expenses 
reasonably incurred by a party in preparing to file, filing, prosecuting 
and/or settling its application, petition to deny, informal objection or 
other pleading for which reimbursement is sought.
    (4) ``Other consideration'' consists of financial concessions, 
including, but not limited to, the transfer of assets or the provision 
of tangible pecuniary benefit, as well as non-financial concessions that 
confer any type of benefit on the recipient.
    (e) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, any payments 
made or received in exchange for withdrawing a short-form application 
for an FCC authorization awarded through competitive bidding shall be 
subject to the restrictions set forth in Sec. 1.2105(c) of this chapter.
[ 59 FR 59507 , Nov. 17, 1994, as amended at  62 FR 11629 , Mar. 12, 1997]