68 IAC 7-1-13 Sanctions and penalties

Sec. 13. (a) The hearing officer may impose sanctions and penalties if the hearing officer finds that a party has acted in bad faith, for the purpose of delay, or has otherwise abused the hearing process. Such sanctions and penalties include but are not limited to, default judgment or directed finding on one (1) or more issues, or a fine. (b) If a petitioner fails to testify on his or her own behalf with respect to any question propounded to him or her, the hearing officer may infer therefrom that such testimony or answer would have been adverse to the case of the party refusing to testify. (c) If the petitioner or its agent fails to answer a subpoena or refuses to testify fully at the request of the commission, such failure may be deemed independent grounds for a finding that the petitioner should have been denied a license or the transfer of ownership. The hearing officer may also infer therefrom that such testimony would have been adverse to the petitioner. (d) The unexcused failure of the petitioner to appear at a hearing shall constitute an admission of all matters and facts contained in the notice of denial, nonrenewal, or placement on the exclusion list. In such case, the hearing officer may take action based upon such admission or upon any other evidence, including affidavits, without any further notice to the petitioner.