California OAH special education order · September 19, 2019
Order Denying Request for Reconsideration
OAH Case No. 2019081163 · ALJ Linda Johnson
OAH denied Student's request to reconsider the denial of a change in hearing location because Parents' travel plans were already known when the first request was made.
Summary
After OAH denied Student's motion to change the hearing location, Student filed a second request to change the mediation and hearing location, which OAH treated as a request for reconsideration. Saddleback Valley opposed. OAH denied the request because Student offered no new facts, circumstances, or law, and did not explain why Parents' travel plans were left out of the first motion. OAH also noted that new hearing dates had already been set after it granted Student's motion to amend, and it confirmed those dates.
Why it matters
A request for reconsideration must rest on genuinely new facts or law, along with a reason they were not raised the first time. Parents should put every reason for a venue change, such as travel plans, in the first motion.
Key authority cited
- Gov. Code, § 11521
- Code Civ. Proc., § 1008
- Baldwin v. Home Savings of America (1997) 59 Cal.App.4th 1192
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,
v.
SADDLEBACK VALLEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT.
OAH CASE NUMBER 2019081163
ORDER DENYING REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION
On September 11, 2019, the undersigned Administrative Law Judge issued an order denying Student’s motion to change the hearing location. On September 11, 2019, Student filed a second request for a change in mediation and hearing location which the Office of Administrative Hearings, referred to as OAH, deemed a request for reconsideration. On September 12, 2019, Student filed a motion to amend the complaint. On September 16, 2019, Saddleback Valley Unified School District filed an opposition to Student’s request for reconsideration. On September 17, 2019, Student filed a reply to Saddleback Valley’s opposition. On September 19, 2019, OAH granted Student’s motion to amend and reset the hearing dates.
APPLICABLE LAW
The Office of Administrative Hearings will generally reconsider a ruling upon a showing of new or different facts, circumstances, or law justifying reconsideration, when the party seeks reconsideration within a reasonable period of time, generally within ten days. (See, e.g., Gov. Code, § 11521; Code Civ. Proc., § 1008.) The party seeking reconsideration may also be required to provide an explanation for its failure to previously provide the different facts, circumstances or law. (See Baldwin v. Home Savings of America (1997) 59 Cal.App.4th 1192, 1199-1200.)
DISCUSSION
Student offers no new facts, circumstances, or law to support reconsideration.
Student argues that Parents will be in or around the requested locations during the previously scheduled hearing dates. Student did not offer reason why this information was not provided in the first motion. Student was aware of Parents’ travel plans when she first requested a change of venue therefore this information is not new to Student.
Moreover, because OAH granted Student’s motion to amend the complaint OAH issued a new scheduling order with new hearing dates.
ORDER
Student has not established the September 11, 2019 Order Denying the Motion to Change Venue should be reconsidered. The motion for reconsideration is denied. All dates set in the September 19, 2019 scheduling order are confirmed.
DATED: September 19, 2019 Linda Johnson Administrative Law Judge Office of Administrative Hearings