Goto Section: 14.41 | 14.43 | Table of Contents
FCC 14.42
Revised as of October 2, 2015
Goto Year:2014 |
2016
§ 14.42 Answers.
(a) Any defendant upon whom copy of a formal complaint is served shall
answer such complaint in the manner prescribed under this section within
twenty days of service of the formal complaint by the complainant, unless
otherwise directed by the Commission.
(b) The answer shall advise the complainant and the Commission fully and
completely of the nature of any defense, and shall respond specifically to
all material allegations of the complaint. Every effort shall be made to
narrow the issues in the answer. The defendant shall state concisely its
defense to each claim asserted, admit or deny the averments on which the
complainant relies, and state in detail the basis for admitting or denying
such averment. General denials are prohibited. Denials based on information
and belief are expressly prohibited unless made in good faith and
accompanied by an affidavit explaining the basis for the defendant's belief
and why the defendant could not reasonably ascertain the facts from the
complainant or any other source. If the defendant is without knowledge or
information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of an averment, the
defendant shall so state and this has the effect of a denial. When a
defendant intends in good faith to deny only part of an averment, the
defendant shall specify so much of it as is true and shall deny only the
remainder. The defendant may deny the allegations of the complaint as
specific denials of either designated averments or paragraphs.
(c) The answer shall contain proposed findings of fact, conclusions of law,
and legal analysis relevant to the claims and arguments set forth in the
answer.
(d) Averments in a complaint or supplemental complaint filed pursuant to
§ § 14.38 and 14.39 of this subpart are deemed to be admitted when not denied
in the answer.
(e) Affirmative defenses to allegations contained in the complaint shall be
specifically captioned as such and presented separately from any denials
made in accordance with paragraph (c) of this section.
(f) The answer shall include an information designation containing:
(1) The name, address, and position of each individual believed to have
firsthand knowledge of the facts alleged with particularity in the answer,
along with a description of the facts within any such individual's
knowledge;
(2) A description of all documents, data compilations and tangible things in
the defendant's possession, custody, or control, that are relevant to the
facts alleged with particularity in the answer. Such description shall
include for each document:
(i) The date it was prepared, mailed, transmitted, or otherwise
disseminated;
(ii) The author, preparer, or other source;
(iii) The recipient(s) or intended recipient(s);
(iv) Its physical location; and
(v) A description of its relevance to the matters in dispute.
(3) A complete description of the manner in which the defendant 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.
(g) The answer shall attach copies of all affidavits, documents, data
compilations and tangible things in the defendant's possession, custody, or
control, upon which the defendant relies or intends to rely to support the
facts alleged and legal arguments made in the answer.
(h) The answer shall contain certification that the defendant has, in good
faith, discussed or attempted to discuss, the possibility of settlement with
the complainant prior to the filing of the formal complaint. Such
certification shall include a brief summary of all steps taken to resolve
the dispute prior to the filing of the formal complaint. If no such steps
were taken, such certificate shall state the reason(s) why the defendant
believed such steps would be fruitless;
(i) The defendant 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.
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Goto Section: 14.41 | 14.43
Goto Year: 2014 |
2016
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