Goto Section: 14.38 | 14.40 | Table of Contents
FCC 14.39
Revised as of October 2, 2015
Goto Year:2014 |
2016
§ 14.39 Format and content of formal complaints.
(a) Subject to paragraph (d) of this section governing supplemental
complaints filed pursuant to § 14.39 of this subpart, a formal complaint
shall contain:
(1) The name of each complainant and defendant;
(2) The occupation, address and telephone number of each complainant and, to
the extent known, each defendant;
(3) The name, address, and telephone number of complainant's attorney, if
represented by counsel;
(4) Citation to the section of the Communications Act and/or order and/or
regulation of the Commission alleged to have been violated;
(5) A complete statement of facts which, if proven true, would constitute
such a violation. All material facts must be supported, pursuant to the
requirements of § 14.38(c) of this subpart and paragraph (a)(11) of this
section, by relevant affidavits and documentation, including copies of
relevant written agreements, offers, counter-offers, denials, or other
related correspondence. The statement of facts shall include a detailed
explanation of the manner and time period in which a defendant has allegedly
violated the Act, Commission order, or Commission rule in question,
including a full identification or description of the communications,
transmissions, services, or other carrier conduct complained of and the
nature of any injury allegedly sustained by the complainant. Assertions
based on information and belief are expressly prohibited unless made in good
faith and accompanied by an affidavit explaining the basis for the
plaintiff's belief and why the complainant could not reasonably ascertain
the facts from the defendant or any other source;
(6) Proposed findings of fact, conclusions of law, and legal analysis
relevant to the claims and arguments set forth in the complaint;
(7) The relief sought, including recovery of damages and the amount of
damages claimed, if known;
(8) Certification that the complainant has, in good faith, discussed or
attempted to discuss the possibility of settlement with each defendant prior
to the filing of the formal complaint. Such certification shall include a
statement that, prior to the filing of the complaint, the complainant mailed
a certified letter outlining the allegations that form the basis of the
complaint it anticipated filing with the Commission to the defendant carrier
or one of the defendant's registered agents for service of process that
invited a response within a reasonable period of time and a brief summary of
all additional steps taken to resolve the dispute prior to the filing of the
formal complaint. If no additional steps were taken, such certificate shall
state the reason(s) why the complainant believed such steps would be
fruitless;
(9) Whether a separate action has been filed with the Commission, any court,
or other government agency that is based on the same claim or same set of
facts, in whole or in part, or whether the complaint seeks prospective
relief identical to the relief proposed or at issue in a notice-and-comment
proceeding that is concurrently before the Commission;
(10) An information designation containing:
(i) The name, address, and position of each individual believed to have
firsthand knowledge of the facts alleged with particularity in the
complaint, along with a description of the facts within any such
individual's knowledge;
(ii) A description of all documents, data compilations and tangible things
in the complainant's possession, custody, or control, that are relevant to
the facts alleged with particularity in the complaint. Such description
shall include for each document:
(A) The date it was prepared, mailed, transmitted, or otherwise
disseminated;
(B) The author, preparer, or other source;
(C) The recipient(s) or intended recipient(s);
(D) Its physical location; and
(E) A description of its relevance to the matters contained in the
complaint; and
(iii) A complete description of the manner in which the complainant
identified all persons with information and designated all documents, data
compilations and tangible things as being relevant to the dispute,
including, but not limited to, identifying the individual(s) that conducted
the information search and the criteria used to identify such persons,
documents, data compilations, tangible things, and information;
(11) Copies of all affidavits, documents, data compilations and tangible
things in the complainant's possession, custody, or control, upon which the
complainant relies or intends to rely to support the facts alleged and legal
arguments made in the complaint;
(12) A completed Formal Complaint Intake Form;
(13) A declaration, under penalty of perjury, by the complainant or
complainant's counsel describing the amount, method, and the complainant's
10-digit FCC Registration Number, if any;
(14) A certificate of service; and
(15) A FCC Registration Number is required under part 1, subpart W.
Submission of a complaint without the FCC Registration Number as required by
part 1, subpart W will result in dismissal of the complaint.
(b) The following format may be used in cases to which it is applicable,
with such modifications as the circumstances may render necessary:
Before the Federal Communications Commission, Washington, DC 20554
In the matter of
Complainant,
v.
Defendant.
File No. (To be inserted by the Enforcement Bureau)
Complaint
To: The Commission.
The complainant (here insert full name of each complainant and, if a
corporation, the corporate title of such complainant) shows that:
(1) (Here state post office address, and telephone number of each
complainant).
(2) (Here insert the name, and, to the extent known, address and telephone
number of defendants).
(3) (Here insert fully and clearly the specific act or thing complained of,
together with such facts as are necessary to give a full understanding of
the matter, including relevant legal and documentary support).
Wherefore, complainant asks (here state specifically the relief desired).
(Date)
(Name of each complainant)
(Name, address, and telephone number of attorney, if any)
(c) The complainant may petition the staff, pursuant to § 1.3 of this
chapter, for a waiver of any of the requirements of this section. Such
waiver may be granted for good cause shown.
(d) Supplemental complaints.
(1) Supplemental complaints filed pursuant to § 14.39 shall conform to the
requirements set out in this section and § 14.38 of this subpart, except that
the requirements in § § 14.38(b), 14.39 (a)(4), (a)(5), (a)(8), (a)(9),
(a)(12), and (a)(13) of this subpart shall not apply to such supplemental
complaints;
(2) In addition, supplemental complaints filed pursuant to § 14.39 of this
subpart shall contain a complete statement of facts which, if proven true,
would support complainant's calculation of damages for each category of
damages for which recovery is sought. All material facts must be supported,
pursuant to the requirements of § 14.38(c) of this subpart and paragraph
(a)(11) of this section, by relevant affidavits and other documentation. The
statement of facts shall include a detailed explanation of the matters
relied upon, including a full identification or description of the
communications, transmissions, services, or other matters relevant to the
calculation of damages and the nature of any injury allegedly sustained by
the complainant. Assertions based on information and belief are expressly
prohibited unless made in good faith and accompanied by an affidavit
explaining the basis for the complainant's belief and why the complainant
could not reasonably ascertain the facts from the defendant or any other
source;
(3) Supplemental complaints filed pursuant to § 14.39 of this subpart shall
contain a certification that the complainant has, in good faith, discussed
or attempted to discuss the possibility of settlement with respect to
damages for which recovery is sought with each defendant prior to the filing
of the supplemental complaint. Such certification shall include a statement
that, no later than 30 days after the release of the liability order, the
complainant mailed a certified letter to the primary individual who
represented the defendant carrier during the initial complaint proceeding
outlining the allegations that form the basis of the supplemental complaint
it anticipates filing with the Commission and inviting a response from the
carrier within a reasonable period of time. The certification shall also
contain a brief summary of all additional steps taken to resolve the dispute
prior to the filing of the supplemental complaint. If no additional steps
were taken, such certification shall state the reason(s) why the complainant
believed such steps would be fruitless.
return arrow Back to Top
Goto Section: 14.38 | 14.40
Goto Year: 2014 |
2016
CiteFind - See documents on FCC website that
cite this rule
Want to support this service?
Thanks!
Report errors in
this rule. Since these rules are converted to HTML by machine, it's possible errors have been made. Please
help us improve these rules by clicking the Report FCC Rule Errors link to report an error.
hallikainen.com
Helping make public information public