SECTION 340:2-28-17.2. Pleadings and motion practice

(a)   Document signatures.

(1)   Signing pleadings. Every pleading and motion filed with the Office of Administrative Hearings: Child Support (OAH) must be signed by an attorney of record, whose Oklahoma Bar Association (OBA) identification number must be stated, orwhen the party is not represented by an attorney, must be signed by the party. A pleading is any document that contains statements or allegations that constitute a cause of action or defense. Each pleading and motion must include the signer's address and phone number, if any. Pleadings need not be supported by affidavit except as provided for by rule or statute.

(2)   Signing other documents. Other documents, such as legally-mandated administrative notices issued by Child Support Services (CSS) to notify obligors of proposed enforcement actions, do not require an attorney's signature.

(3)   Signatures submitted through electronic means. Electronic mediums that attach an electronic signature are acceptable to meet signature requirements. In addition to electronic transmittals of documents and electronic signatures, signatures on any document transmitted by electronic means including, but not limited to, facsimile, scan, or email have the same force and effect as an original, physical signature, per Section 237.9a of Title 56 of the Oklahoma Statutes. This provision does not authorize filing documents through email.

(b)   Practice.

(1)   Form, filing, and service.

(A)   All documents, other than exhibits, are filed in the case, prior to consideration by an administrative law judge (ALJ). OAH retains all originals filed in paper form and maintains electronic submissions ,per state record requirements. A pleading or motion must be filed prior to any administrative proceeding being docketed.

(B)   Documents filed in OAH, in paper form, must be typewritten or legibly hand-written on white paper, size 8½ by 11 inches. All documents, other than exhibits, must contain a case style, which is a document heading containing the name of this administrative court, the parties' names, appropriate roles, and assigned case numbers. The party filing the initial request for action by OAH is generally designated as the petitioner or petitioner/plaintiff. The opposing party is usually named as the respondent or respondent/defendant. The custodian(s) must be listed, when not already included in the style as a party, under the case numbers. The case numbers listed in the style must include the OAH number and the Title IV-D, family group number (FGN), or CSS number. The associated district court case number is included, when available. Both conventional and "in re" styles are permitted. Parties are encouraged to maintain a consistent style, similar to one that may have been used in prior child support-related actions, between the same parties, provided the information is complete and accurate.

(i)   When filed by an attorney, the name, OBA number, address, and preferred phone numbers must be shown on the signature page of the document.

(ii)   When filed by a party not represented by a lawyer, the party is considered a pro se party, and must sign his or her name and type or legibly print his or her name, mailing address, Zip code, and preferred phone numbers on the signature page of the document.

(C)   All documents in a proceeding, other than exhibits, must be served as required by rule or statute. Proof of service must be filed with OAH and establish that requirements for service are satisfied.

(D)   A copy of all documents, other than exhibits, filed in OAH must be provided to all other pro se parties and attorneys of record. A certificate of mailing, delivery, or service must be filed with OAH.

(E)   Upon failure to comply with the requirements in this Section, the ALJ may, among other sanctions, continue the cause of action until satisfactory compliance or deny the requested relief.

(F)   Requests that do not comply with the requirements of (A) through (E) of this paragraph are considered only at the ALJ's discretion.

(G)   Documents submitted through secure electronic means approved by OAH meet the requirement of original documents.

(2)   Motions.

(A)   This paragraph does not prohibit oral motions; however written motions are preferred.

(B)   All motions must state the legal basis supporting the, relief or action requested, and if the opposing party objects, when known.

(C)   The ALJ determines if a hearing or oral argument is necessary on a motion and, if so, provides pro se parties and all attorneys of record with notice of the specific hearing date, time, and place.

(D)   Briefs or responses that do not comply with this paragraph are considered only at the ALJ's discretion.

(3)   Briefs.

(A)   Reply and response briefs must be filed three-business days prior to any hearing. Each brief must be clearly styled to show:

(i)   if it is in support of a motion, in opposition of a motion, or a reply brief;

(ii)   the particular application or proceeding to which it relates; and

(iii)   the party or parties on whose behalf it is presented.

(B)   Briefs, when required, must not exceed 20 pages in length without prior ALJ permission.

(C)   Reply briefs must be limited to five pages in length, without prior ALJ permission.

(D)   No further briefs may be filed without ALJ permission.

(E)   Briefs and responses that do not comply with this paragraph are considered only at the ALJ's discretion.

(4)   Time extensions. Except at the ALJ's discretion, all requests for extensions of time must contain:

(A)   the original due date for the response;

(B)   the amount of additional time requested;

(C)   the reason for the request;

(D)   the current status of the case, including the next hearing date, when a hearing is scheduled; and

(E)   a statement that the opposing pro se party or the opposing party's counsel was contacted regarding the extension and either consents or objects to the extension; or in the alternative, a statement that a good faith effort was made to comply but the opposing pro se party or the opposing party's counsel was unavailable.

(5)   Discovery not filed. Requests for the purpose of discovery must not be filed with OAH, unless the discovery document accompanies a pleading, motion, a response to a motion, or is ordered by the ALJ. Motions to compel discovery or discovery motions for protective order are permitted.

(A)   Any discovery that contains personal identifiers, such as bank account, routing, taxpayer identification, or Social Security numbers, may be redacted by the party submitting the documents. When the numbers are relevant to the case, redacting all numbers except for the last four digits is acceptable. The party submitting the redacted documents must not redact the originals; the redaction is made on copies of the originals, with the redacted copies submitted in substitution for the originals.

(B)   It is the responsibility of the party submitting the documents to redact any sensitive material.

(C)   The originals with the redacted information intact may be required for viewing by the ALJ assigned to the case.

(6)   Disputed discovery motions. A hearing on a discovery dispute may not be set unless the moving party advises the ALJ in the motion that the party has conferred or has attempted to confer, in good faith, about the dispute, with the non-movantand was unable to resolve the dispute.

(7)   Counsel withdrawal. When submitting an application to withdraw and a proposed order allowing withdrawal, counsel must comply with (A) through (B) of this paragraph.

(A)   Every application to withdraw as counsel must contain:

(i)   a statement of grounds for withdrawal;

(ii)   the current case status, including the next hearing date, when a hearing is scheduled;

(iii)   if new or substitute counsel was obtained by the client and entered an appearance; and

(iv)   a certificate of mailing, delivery, or service to the client and to all other pro se parties and attorneys of record.

(B)   

Every proposed order allowing withdrawal must contain a statement of the case's current status, including the next hearing date, when a hearing is scheduled, and a certificate of mailing, delivery, or service to the movant's client, all other pro se parties, and attorneys of record.

[Source: Amended and renumbered from 340:2-28-27 at 20 Ok Reg 2033, eff 7-1-03; Amended at 24 Ok Reg 2176, eff 7-1-07; Amended at 37 Ok Reg 1747, eff 9-15-20]