Prehearing conference and procedure

(a) Time and place. The ALJ shall direct the parties or their counsel to participate in a prehearing conference at any reasonable time prior to the hearing. The prehearing conference shall be held at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC. Reasonable notice of the time, place of the prehearing conference and if personal attendance will be necessary shall be given. Prehearing conferences may be conducted telephonically. The ALJ shall order each of the parties to furnish at the prehearing conference or at another time prior to the hearing the following:

(1) An outline of the appeal or defense;

(2) The legal theories upon which the party will rely;

(3) Copies of or a list of documents that the party anticipates relying upon at the hearing; and

(4) A list of witnesses who will testify on behalf of the party. At the discretion of the party furnishing such list of witnesses, the names of the witnesses need not be furnished if they are otherwise identified in some meaningful way, such as a short statement of the type of evidence they will offer.

(b) Procedures. The ALJ shall not order any of the foregoing procedures that a party can show are inappropriate or unwarranted under the circumstances of the particular appeal.

(c) Matters to be considered. At the prehearing conference, the following matters shall be considered:

(1) The simplification of issues;

(2) The necessity of amendments to pleadings;

(3) The possibility of obtaining stipulations of facts and of the authenticity, accuracy, and admissibility of documents, which will avoid unnecessary proof;

(4) The limitation of the number of expert or other witnesses;

(5) Negotiation, compromise, or settlement of issues;

(6) The exchange of copies of proposed exhibits;

(7) The nature of and the date by which discovery, as provided in § 283.12, must be completed;

(8) The identification of documents or matters of which official notice may be requested;

(9) A schedule to be followed by the parties for the completion of the actions decided at the conference; and

(10) Such other matters as may expedite and aid in the disposition of the appeal.

(e) Order. Actions taken as a result of a conference shall be reduced to an appropriate written order, unless the ALJ concludes that a stenographic report, if available, shall suffice, or, in the event the conference takes place within 7 days of the beginning of the hearing, the ALJ elects to make a statement on the record at the hearing summarizing the actions taken.