Full Commission Review

(1) Review of Public Hearing Decision. (a) Time Period for Request. Any party aggrieved by a final public hearing decision may, within ten days of receipt of the decision, file a notice of appeal with the Clerk's Office. (b) Petition for Review. Within 30 days of receipt of the decision, the appellant shall file with the Commission a petition for review with the Clerk's Office setting forth: 1. A statement of the claims presented for review; 2. A succinct statement of facts relevant to the issue(s) presented for review with appropriate citation references to the record upon which the appellant relies to support the appeal; 3. Any findings of fact which the appellant claims are not supported by substantial evidence and unwarranted by the facts in the record; 4. Any alleged error of law, including citations to the authorities, statutes and parts of the record relied on; 5. All other matters on which the appellant relies to support the appeal; and 6. The relief to which the appellant claims they are entitled, which relief may be requested in the alternative. (c) Service. The party filing a notice of appeal or petition for review of a public hearing decision shall serve a copy of the notice and petition upon all parties to the proceeding. (2) Intervention in the Review. (a) Any party to the public hearing shall have the right to intervene in the review proceeding by filing a notice of intervention stating the party's interest and the position taken with respect to the decision under appeal. (b) The Full Commission may in its discretion permit other interested persons to intervene in the review proceeding, if such persons are substantially and specifically affected by the proceedings. (c) The notice of intervention shall be filed within ten days of receipt of the petition for review and shall be served on all parties by the intervener. (d) An intervener may file a brief in reply to the petition for review addressing the appellant's arguments within 30 days of receipt of the petition for review, which shall be served on all parties by the intervener. (3) Form of Petition for Review and Intervener's Brief. Except by permission of the Full Commission, a petition for review and any intervener's brief shall not exceed 30 pages, shall be filed on 8 ½" by 11" paper, when not filed electronically, be typed in no less than 12-point type, and be double spaced, provided that the case caption, footnotes, and quotations may be single spaced. The margins shall be at least one inch. 804 CMR - 18.14 (4) Citation of Supplemental Authorities. When pertinent and significant authorities come to the attention of a party after the petition for review or intervener's brief has been filed, a party shall promptly advise the Full Commission, by letter, with a copy to all parties, setting forth the citations. (5) Stay of Order. The filing of a petition for review of a public hearing decision shall operate as a stay of execution of the public hearing decision, unless ordered otherwise by the Full Commission. (6) Full Commission Members. The Commissioners who have been assigned to a matter post-probable cause up to certification shall not participate in the deliberations of the Full Commission except when necessary to create a quorum of the Full Commission or to resolve a split decision. (7) Oral Argument. The Commission may, in its discretion, order oral argument on a petition for review. (8) Record of Review. The petition for review shall be confined to the record presented at the public hearing. (9) Additional Evidence. If application is made to the Full Commission for leave to present additional evidence, and it is shown to the satisfaction of the Full Commission that the additional evidence is material to the claims in the case, and that there was good reason for failure to present it at public hearing, the Full Commission may order that the additional evidence be taken after remand upon such conditions as the Full Commission deems proper. (10) Full Commission Decision. After review of the decision of the Hearing Commissioner, the Full Commission may affirm the decision, or remand the matter for further proceedings before the Hearing Commissioner; or set aside or modify the decision, if it determines that the substantial rights of any party may have been prejudiced because the decision is: (a) In violation of constitutional provisions; (b) In excess of the statutory authority or jurisdiction of the Commission; (c) Based on an error of law; (d) Made on unlawful procedure; (e) Unsupported by substantial evidence; or (f) Arbitrary or capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law or the order certifying the claims to public hearing. (11) Commission Initiated Review of Public Hearing Decisions. The Full Commission may review the final public hearing decision sua sponte. In addition, a Commissioner who presided over the matter post-probable cause, mayrequest the Full Commission to review a public hearing decision. In such event, the Full Commission may order oral argument, or order the parties to submit memoranda of law or fact. (12) Request for Award of Attorney's Fees and Costs after Issuance of Full Commission Decision. Where the complainant prevails in an appeal to the Full Commission, the complainant may, within 15 days of receipt of the Full Commission decision issued pursuant to 804 CMR 1.23(10) or (11), petition for an award of reasonable attorney's fees and costs subject to the following provisions: (a) The petition shall include detailed, contemporaneous time records, a breakdown of costs, and a supporting affidavit from every attorney for whom the fees are sought. The petition shall also include information about fair market hourly rates of attorneys with similar skill and experience performing similar work, which may be in the form of affidavits from attorneys with knowledge of such hourly rates or model fee charts, or other documentation; (b) If complainant is the appellant, the petition may contain a request for fees and costs incurred prior to the appeal as well as those incurred as a result of litigating the appeal; (c) If complainant is the appellee, the petition may contain only a request for supplemental fees and costs incurred as a result of litigating the appeal, as the costs incurred in prior proceedings before the Full Commission shall have been requested in accordance with 804 CMR 1.12(19); 804 CMR - 18.15 (d) A respondent may file an opposition within 15 days of receipt of said petition; and (e) The decision by the Full Commission on the petition for the award of attorney's fees and costs, together with the Full Commission decision issued pursuant to 804 CMR 1.23(10) or (11) shall constitute the final order of the Commission for the purpose of judicial review pursuant to M.G.L. c. 151B, § 6 and M.G.L. c. 30A.