49 C.F.R. PART 1109—USE OF ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION IN BOARD PROCEEDINGS AND THOSE IN WHICH THE BOARD IS A PARTY
Title 49 - Transportation
Authority: 5 U.S.C. 571 et seq.
Source: 57 FR 32451, July 22, 1992, unless otherwise noted.
Any proceeding may be held in abeyance for 90 days while administrative dispute resolution (ADR) procedures (such as arbitration and mediation) are pursued. (Additional 90 day periods can be requested.) The period while any proceeding is held in abeyance to facilitate ADR will not be counted towards the statutory deadlines. All parties are required to indicate their written consent for ADR treatment. Requests that a proceeding be held in abeyance while ADR procedures are pursued should be submitted to the Office of the Secretary. The Secretary shall promptly issue an order in response to such requests. Unless arbitration or some other binding process involving a neutral has been undertaken, any party believing that ADR procedures are not yielding the intended results shall inform the Secretary and all parties in writing, and normal agency procedures will be reactivated by the Secretary by notice served on all the parties. Appeals are limited to clear errors of general transportation importance, and not issues of causation or fact. Arbitration awards can be challenged on the basis that they do not take their essence from the Interstate Commerce Act, or are not limited to the matters the parties have referred for arbitration. Appeals are limited to 10 typewritten pages. Parties will have 20 days from the service date of the decision to file, and opposing parties 20 days to answer. Arbitration decisions will become effective in 30 days unless a party seeks a stay of the decision within 10 days of its issuance, and we grant the stay. Appeals and stay petitions should be limited to extraordinary circumstances. [57 FR 32451, July 22, 1992; 57 FR 35628, Aug. 10, 1992] In all ADR matters involving the Board, whether under the Administrative Dispute Resolution Act or not, the confidentiality provisions of that Act (5 U.S.C. 574) shall bind the Board and all parties and neutrals in those ADR matters. [67 FR 36822, May 28, 2002] (a) A shipper seeking rate relief from a railroad or railroads in a case involving the stand-alone cost methodology must engage in non-binding mediation of its dispute with the railroad upon filing a formal complaint under 49 CFR Part 1111. (b) Within 10 business days after the shipper files its formal complaint, the Board will assign a mediator to the case. Within 5 business days of the assignment to mediate, the mediator shall contact the parties to discuss ground rules and the time and location of any meeting. At least one principal of each party, who has the authority to bind that party, shall participate in the mediation and be present at any session at which the mediator requests that the principal be present. (c) The mediator will work with the parties to try to reach a settlement of all or some of their dispute or to narrow the issues in dispute, and reach stipulations that may be incorporated into any adjudication before the Board if mediation does not fully resolve the dispute. If the parties reach a settlement, the mediator may assist in preparing a settlement agreement. (d) The entire mediation process shall be private and confidential. No party may use any concessions made or information disclosed to either the mediator or the opposing party before the Board or in any other forum without the consent of the other party. (e) The mediation shall be completed within 60 days of the appointment of the mediator. The mediation may be terminated prior to the end of the 60-day period only with the certification of the mediator to the Board. Requests to extend mediation, or to re-engage it later, will be entertained on a case-by-case basis, but only if filed by all interested parties. (f) Absent a specific order from the Board, the onset of mediation will not affect the procedural schedule in stand-alone cost rate cases, set forth at 49 CFR 1111.8(a). [68 FR 17313, Apr. 9, 2003]
Title 49: Transportation
PART 1109—USE OF ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION IN BOARD PROCEEDINGS AND THOSE IN WHICH THE BOARD IS A PARTY
Section Contents
§ 1109.1 Invoking ADR in Board proceedings.
§ 1109.2 Appeals from arbitration decisions.
§ 1109.3 Confidentiality in ADR Matters
§ 1109.4 Mandatory mediation in rate cases to be considered under the stand-alone cost methodology.
§ 1109.1 Invoking ADR in Board proceedings.
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§ 1109.2 Appeals from arbitration decisions.
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§ 1109.3 Confidentiality in ADR Matters
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§ 1109.4 Mandatory mediation in rate cases to be considered under the stand-alone cost methodology.
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