(a) Mediation Availability Mediation may be requested by the Complainant or Respondent at any time, or may be recommended by the Staff at any time, or may be recommended, ordered or terminated by the Hearing Panel or Panel Chairperson at a Prehearing Conference. (1) Staff should inform Complainant and Respondent of the availability for Mediation at the earliest opportunity. (2) In order for a party to request mediation, it must submit a written request to the Staff. The Staff will then notify all other parties of the filing and of the mediation session. (3) The Commission will arrange for a qualified mediator to meet with the parties within thirty (30) days after a party requests mediation to attempt to settle the dispute. (4) If any party refuses to attend a mediation session, or if mediation does not successfully resolve the dispute within ten (10) days after the first mediation session is held, the Staff must promptly refer the case to the Commission to schedule a hearing, if appropriate, unless a hearing has already been held. (b) Mediation Process (1) Mediation will consist of one or more meetings between the parties and their representatives, if any. (2) Such meetings will be monitored by, presided over, and directed by a mediator. (c) Mediator (1) The mediator may meet with all parties, or separately with one or more parties. (2) The mediator may provide factual information and analysis to the parties. (3) The mediator may inform the parties of applicable law and Commission decisions related to the issues raised in mediation. (a) Staff Duties (1) The Staff will serve complaint forms upon request. (2) The Staff will provide each party with a copy of these procedures and an introductory explanatory letter, and will inform each party of the opportunity for a hearing or mediation. (3) The Staff may investigate facts, assemble documents, and summarize the issues in dispute. The Staff may notify a party if a dispute was not properly filed. (4) The Staff will inform all parties of the time when the Commission will consider jurisdiction of the case which will be not later than the first Commission meeting which is ninety (90) days after the filing of the Complaint. (5) The Staff will serve notice to all parties of the Commission’s vote regarding jurisdiction as soon as possible after the vote. (b) Commission Duties (1) The Commission, in its discretion, may dismiss a dispute if it finds that there are no reasonable grounds to conclude that a violation of applicable law or any other agreement has occurred. See Section 10B-11 of the Montgomery County Code. The Commission may reconsider such dismissal if a request to reconsider is filed within thirty (30) days showing either that the Commission mistakenly interpreted or applied relevant law or an association document, or that material issues of fact remain unresolved. (2) The Chairperson of the Commission will select a Hearing Panel or designate a Hearing Examiner, and set a hearing date as soon as reasonably possible after the mailing of the notification to the parties of the acceptance of jurisdiction. The Hearing Panel will consist of two voting members of the Commission, and a Panel Chairperson (selected by the two voting members from a Commission-approved list of Panel Chairpersons), in accordance with Section 10B-12 of the Montgomery County Code. (c) Process (1) A copy of all correspondence and pleadings filed by a party, including attachments, shall be served on the opposing party. (a) Complaint Any party may file an action by completion and submission of the complaint form provided by the Staff and the payment of any fee indicated by the Staff, as approved by the Commission. See Section 10B-9 of the Montgomery County Code for filing of disputes. (b) Response (1) Any party named as a Respondent in the Complaint must be served a copy of the Complaint by the Complaining Party. Within thirty (30) days of service, the Respondent must file a Response to the Complaint with the Staff, and serve a copy on the Complainant. (2) If the Staff does not receive the Response, the Commission may grant the relief requested by the Complaint, or take such other action provided herein. (c) Request for Relief of Stay (1) A party may submit an expedited request to lift the stay provided for in Section 10B-9(e) of the Montgomery County Code. (2) Such request may be heard by a panel appointed pursuant to 10B.06.01.02(b)(2) herein. (a) General (1) In any proceeding, any party may serve a Request for Production of Documents and Interrogatories, in accordance with these rules, upon any other party. (2) Any discovery dispute shall be presented at the Prehearing Conference. (See 10B.06.01.06(a)(1) regarding Prehearing Conference.) The Panel Chairperson may request that the Commission compel the Production of Documents, as provided herein. (b) Requests for Production of Documents (1) The Request for Production must be limited to twenty (20) individual requests and may only be made of documents not otherwise available to or in the control of the requesting party, or not available in the public record. (2) Each party served with a Request for Production must file a Response to the Production Request with a copy to the Staff. The Response to the Request for Production must state whether the documents requested are in the control of the party responding. A copy of the response not in the documents must be sent to the Staff. (3) The inspection must take place at a reasonable and convenient time to both parties. (4) Copies of documents selected by the requesting party at the inspection must be provided by the responding party to the requesting party at the requesting party’s expense within five (5) days of the inspection. (c) Interrogatories (1) Any party, with approval of the Panel Chairperson, may submit Interrogatories which are ten (10) or fewer in number, including subparts, to the other parties. (2) The Response must repeat the Interrogatory and then provide the Answer. (3) Both the Interrogatories and the Answers to Interrogatories must be sent to the Staff. (d) Depositions Upon a showing of good cause, the Panel Chairperson may order the taking of depositions and the issuance of subpoenas. (e) Time (1) The Request for Production of Documents and Interrogatories must be served upon the other party within fifteen (15) days of the date of sending the notice of the jurisdictional decision by the Commission, with a copy sent to the Staff. (2) The Response to the Request for Production of Documents and Interrogatories must be served within fifteen (15) days of the mailing of the Request for Production of Documents and Interrogatories. (a) Pursuant to 10B.06.01.02 and 10B.06.01.03 above, and pursuant to Section 10B-10 of the Montgomery County Code, the Commission may issue summonses to compel the attendance of witnesses and parties and the production of documents, records and other evidence. (b) The summons may be enforced by: (a) The County Attorney, on behalf of the Commission; or (b) the issuance and enforcement of a citation for failure to comply with the summons, which constitutes a Class A violation. A Class A violation carries a fine of up to $500 for each day the noncompliance continues. (c) Any court with jurisdiction may, on request of the Commission, in accordance with State law and the Maryland Rules of Procedure: (1) require compliance with a summons; (2) require the attendance of a named person before the Commission at a specified time and place; (3) require the production of records, documents, or other evidence to the court; or (4) prohibit the destruction of any records, documents, or other evidence until a lawful investigation by the Commission is ended. (d) A court may punish any disobedience of any order entered under this Section as a contempt of court. (a) General (1) In any case scheduled for a Hearing before a panel, the Panel Chairperson may, as he/she deems appropriate, hold a Prehearing Conference. All parties must be present at the Prehearing Conference unless the Panel Chairperson orders otherwise. (2) The Panel Chairperson may require that each party file with the Commission and serve on every other party a Prehearing Statement in the form prescribed by Subparagraph (b) of this Section. (3) As soon as practicable following the final Prehearing Conference, the Panel Chairperson will enter a final Prehearing Order which will govern the hearing of the case. The final Prehearing Order may incorporate, in whole or in part, the parties’ Prehearing Statements. Objections to the final Prehearing Statement must be made promptly and will be determined by the Panel Chairperson prior to the Hearing. Thereafter, no departures from the final Prehearing Order will be permitted except in the judgment of the Hearing Panel, to prevent manifest injustice. After the issuance of the Prehearing Order, the Staff will send the Prehearing Order, the Prehearing Statement and all exhibits to all Panel Members. (b) Prehearing Statements (1) A party’s Prehearing Statement should contain the following: (a) a short statement of the case; (b) a statement of claims made by the Complainant; (c) a statement of defenses raised by the Respondent; (d) a list of witnesses to be called by the party; (e) a list of exhibits to be offered in evidence by the party; (f) an itemization of damages the Complainant seeks to recover; and (g) a request for other relief sought by the Complainant, including attorney’s fees if applicable. (2) The list of witnesses should set forth the full names, addresses, and telephone numbers of all witnesses the party intends to call if not earlier called by another party; a brief description of the testimony to be elicited from the witness; and an estimate of the time the party will take in eliciting such testimony. Expert witnesses should be designated by an asterisk. A party need not list any witness from whom it expects to elicit testimony only by way of cross-examination. (3) The list of exhibits must set forth a description of each exhibit the party intends to offer in evidence. (4) Exhibits should be listed by title and date. Exhibits will be presumed to be authentic unless objection to their authenticity is made at or before the final Prehearing Conference and the objection is sustained. (5) The itemization of damages must set forth separately each element of damage, and the monetary amount thereof, the party claims to be entitled to recover from any other party, including prejudgment interest, punitive damages, and attorney’s fees, if any. (6) The request for other relief must set forth all relief, other than judgment for a sum of money, the party claims to be entitled to receive against any other party. (a) “Service” or “Serve” as used in these rules means delivery by mail, or by hand delivery. (b) Where mail is used for service, an additional three days will be added to the time in which the served party must respond. (a) When the time for any action ends on a Saturday, Sunday, or “State Holiday,” the time will be deemed extended to the next business day. (b) Within fifteen (15) days of the mailing of notice to parties setting the hearing date, the Staff may reschedule the hearing after receipt of an unopposed request. (c) Except as otherwise prohibited herein or by law, upon request of a party or the Staff, for good cause shown the Panel Chairperson may extend the time for performance of any act hereunder. (d) Settlement (1) Notwithstanding any limitations provided above, within twenty-four (24) hours of the hearing time, the Panel Chairperson may grant a continuance of the hearing upon joint request stating that the parties are close to settlement. (2) The Panel Chairperson may delay the beginning of the hearing for one hour for the purposes of ongoing settlement discussions. (3) At the conclusion of the delay period, the Panel Chairperson may continue the hearing upon joint request of the parties, or the hearing shall proceed as scheduled. (4) At the hearing, the Panel Chairperson will set a new date for the parties to reconvene if a continuance of the hearing is granted or if an additional session is required. (a) Hearing Panel’s Retention of Jurisdiction (1) In any dispute decided by a Hearing Panel under Sections 10B-8 — 10B-15 of the Montgomery County Code, the Hearing Panel may retain jurisdiction over the dispute for the purpose of ensuring that the relief granted by the Hearing Panel is completed by the appropriate party. (2) In any decision rendered by a Hearing Panel in which the Hearing Panel desires to retain jurisdiction, such decision must specifically state that the Hearing Panel is retaining jurisdiction over the dispute to ensure that the relief granted is completed in accordance with the Hearing Panel’s decision. (3) While a hearing panel has jurisdiction over a dispute, it may: (a) issue any further order it deems necessary and proper to effectuate a resolution of the dispute and a party’s completion of the relief granted; (b) delegate the authority to the Chairperson of the Hearing Panel to issue a further order deemed necessary and proper to effectuate a resolution of the dispute and issue clarifications of the Hearing Panel’s decision if such clarifications are required and deemed necessary. (c) keep the record of the dispute open for a stated period of time or indefinitely, as appropriate, at the discretion of the Chairperson of the Hearing Panel, for the receipt of additional documents, when necessary to complete the record of the dispute. (4) While a Hearing Panel has jurisdiction over a dispute, the time period to file for judicial review of the decision in accordance with Section 2A-11 of the Montgomery County Code shall be stayed from running. (b) Hearing Panel’s Issuance of Final Order (1) Upon a party’s completion of the relief granted by a Hearing Panel, the Hearing Panel who has retained jurisdiction over a dispute must issue an order specifically stating: (a) that the relief granted has been completed by the appropriate party; and (b) that the Hearing Panel is no longer retaining jurisdiction over the dispute. (2) The Hearing Panel’s decision to issue an order stating that it is no longer retaining jurisdiction over a dispute and that the relief granted has been completed will be final and subject to judicial review in accordance with Section 2A-11 of the Montgomery County Code. (c) Rehearing and Reconsideration Requests for rehearing and/or reconsideration are permitted and are governed by Section 2A-10(f) of the Montgomery County Code. The concurrence of a majority of the members of the hearing panel shall be required to grant such a request. The provisions of this regulation are severable and if any provision, clause, sentence, section, word, or party is held illegal, unconstitutional, or inapplicable to any person or circumstance, such illegality, invalidity, unconstitutionality, or inapplicability will not affect or impair any of the remaining provisions, clauses, sentences, sections, words, or parts of this regulation or its application to other persons or circumstances.