Prehearing Conferences

Section 100 Section 100.11  Prehearing Conferences a)         The administrative law judge shall schedule an initial prehearing conference for all cases, which may be conducted in-person, telephonically, or by videoconference.  Subsequent prehearing conferences shall be scheduled by the administrative law judge, as necessary.  Except for those cases arising under Section 2-110(d) and 3-410 of the NHCA, Section 3-401 of the ID/DD Act, and Section 3-401 of the MC/DD Act, the complainant and respondent shall be prepared to discuss the following issues at the initial prehearing conference: 1)         the prospects for settlement of the matter and the length of time anticipated by both parties to reach a resolution; 2)         the simplification of the issues; 3)         amendments to the pleadings; 4)         the possibility of obtaining admissions of fact and of documents that will avoid unnecessary proof; 5)         the limitation of the number of expert witnesses; 6)         any other matters that may aid in the disposition of the hearing; and 7)         a hearing date. b)         In any proceedings under this Section in which the Department has not scheduled a prehearing conference, any party to the proceedings may request the scheduling of a prehearing conference.  The request shall be made in writing and received by the administrative law judge at least five days prior to the scheduled date of hearing.  The requesting party shall serve all other parties to the proceedings with a copy of the request. c)         Upon the receipt of a request for a prehearing conference in accordance with subsection (b), the administrative law judge shall schedule the prehearing conference and notify all parties of the date, time, and place of the conference. d)         After a prehearing conference, the administrative law judge shall make a written report that recites any action taken by the administrative law judge and any agreements made by the parties as to any of the matters considered. The administrative law judge's written report for the initial prehearing conference shall set a date for holding an evidentiary hearing in the matter that will provide the parties with sufficient time to explore the possible settlement of the case, as well as adequate time to prepare the matter for hearing, if necessary. e)         Any party may request additional prehearing conferences.  The administrative law judge may deny or grant such a request, based on the nature of the motion. f)         A certified stenographic reporter (court reporter) will not be present at a prehearing conference unless one of the parties to the proceeding requests the Department to make arrangements for a court reporter to be present.  The request shall be received by the Department at least two working days in advance of the scheduled prehearing conference.  The party requesting the presence of the court report shall be billed directly for the attendance fee of the reporter.