California OAH special education order · December 26, 2017
Order Requiring Attorney of Record to Sign Pleadings Filed With Office of Administrative Hearings
OAH Case No. 2017110983 · ALJ Darrell Lepkowsky
OAH ordered Student to re-file her opposition to District's continuance motion signed by her attorney of record, because a non-attorney staff member of the law firm had signed it.
This case went to decision
Student v. Etiwanda School District: Etiwanda School District prevails on all claims; special day class placement and October 2017 IEP offered a FAPE. (2018)
Summary
Student opposed District's motion to continue the prehearing conference and due process hearing. The opposition was signed only by James D. Peters, III, who is not an attorney, and not by Student's attorney of record, Arthur Sloane. OAH ruled that any document filed with OAH must be signed either by a parent who has no attorney or by the student's attorney of record. Student had to re-submit the opposition signed by Mr. Sloane by 5:00 p.m. on December 27, 2017, or OAH would decide District's motion without considering it.
Why it matters
A filing signed by a non-attorney law firm employee, such as a paralegal or advocate, may be ignored by OAH. Families with lawyers should make sure the attorney of record personally signs every pleading.
People named in the order
- Arthur Sloane, Student's attorney of record
- James D. Peters, III, Non-attorney law firm staff member (Executive Director of Special Education)
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. 2017110983 v. ORDER REQUIRING ATTORNEY OF
RECORD TO SIGN PLEADINGS
ETIWANDA SCHOOL DISTRICT. FILED WITH OFFICE OF
ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS
Student filed a request for due process (complaint) with the Office of Administrative Hearings on November 27, 2017, naming Etiwanda School District. Student’s complaint was signed by Attorney Arthur Sloane, Esq., California State Bar Number 109937, and James D. Peters, III. Mr. Peters is not an attorney.
On December 19, 2017, District filed a motion to continue the prehearing conference and due process hearing. Student filed an opposition to District’s motion on December 22,
2017. The opposition was not signed by Mr. Sloane, Student’s attorney of record. Rather, it
was signed only by Mr. Peters.
Student has provided no authority for filing a motion that is signed by a paralegal or an “Executive Director of Special Education of the Special Education Division” of an attorney’s law firm, rather than by the attorney of record. Any document filed with OAH must either be signed by a parent if the parent is proceeding without an attorney, or by the student’s attorney of record.
If Student wishes OAH to consider her opposition to District’s motion to continue, Student shall re-submit the opposition signed by Mr. Sloane, her attorney of record, by no later than 5:00 pm. on Wednesday, December 27, 2017. If Student does not re-submit the opposition by that time, OAH will rule on District’s motion without consideration of Student’s opposition.
DATE: December 26, 2017
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DARRELL LEPKOWSKY
Administrative Law Judge Office of Administrative Hearings