California OAH special education order · July 19, 2017
Order Setting Aside Order to Show Cause
OAH Case No. 2017050757 · ALJ Peter Paul Castillo
OAH set aside its order to show cause and imposed no mediation-cancellation costs after the parties settled late in the evening and the District canceled the next morning, but OAH warned parties to call its after-hours settlement line.
Summary
OAH issued orders to show cause, first to Student's counsel and then to the District, asking why they should not pay OAH's costs for a July 13, 2017 mediation that was canceled at the last minute. The responses showed the parties agreed after business hours on July 12 to settle outside mediation. They were confused about who would cancel, and the District representative canceled with the mediator the next morning. OAH found that the late notice kept it from reassigning the mediator, but it set aside the order to show cause and vacated the July 21 hearing.
Why it matters
If the parties decide after hours that the next day's mediation is not needed, they should call OAH's settlement line right away instead of waiting until morning. They should also agree clearly on who will notify OAH, or they risk an order to pay OAH's costs.
People named in the order
- Peter Paul Castillo, Presiding Administrative Law Judge
Topics
Full text of the order
Published text of the OAH order. Page headers and numbers from the original PDF have been dropped.
BEFORE THE
OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
In the Matter of:
PARENT ON BEHALF OF STUDENT, OAH Case No. 2017050757 v. ORDER SETTING ASIDE ORDER TO
SHOW CAUSE
LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL
DISTRICT.
On July 13, 2017, the Office of Administrative Hearings issued an Order to Show Cause why Student’s counsel should not pay OAH’s costs related to cancelation of the scheduled July 13, 2017, 1:30 p.m. mediation. The Order to Show Cause called for Student’s counsel to submit a response to OAH by July 18, 2017. OAH received the response on July 13, 2017.
Student’s counsel response, which included a declaration from counsel and copies of emails between her and the Los Angeles Unified School District representative, and a declaration from her assistant, which show that the District representative contacted Student’s counsel’s office the late afternoon of July 12, 2017, to discuss cancelling the mediation for the next day. In the subsequent email chain that occurred after 5:00 p.m., there appeared to be some confusion as to who would cancel the mediation scheduled for the next day when the parties determined that they could settle the matter outside of mediation.
Based on Student’s counsel’s response, on July 14, 2017, OAH issued an Order to Show Cause why District should not pay the costs related to cancelation of the scheduled July 13, 2017 mediation. The Order to Show Cause called for District to submit a response to OAH by July 18, 2017. OAH received the response on July 18, 2017.
From the responses, it appeared that Student and District determined after the close of business on July 12, 2017, that the parties need not meet the next afternoon in mediation as the parties could resolve the matter outside of mediation. The District representative indicated that since the mediation was not until the afternoon of the next day that he would cancel the mediation that morning, especially since the assigned mediator was scheduled that morning at the District for another mediation.
While District did cancel the mediation with the assigned mediator the morning of July 13, 2017, the failure to contact OAH sooner about the mediation cancellation impacted OAH’s ability to reassign another mediation to the mediator for the afternoon. In the future, instead of waiting until the next morning to cancel the mediation, OAH would expect the parties to contact OAH’s settlement line after business hours if the parties determine that the next day’s mediation is not required. Accordingly, the Order Show to Cause is set aside and the Order to Show Cause hearing for July 21, 2017, is vacated.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATE: July 19, 2017
PETER PAUL CASTILLO
Presiding Administrative Law Judge Office of Administrative Hearings