California OAH special education order · April 16, 2026
Order Vacating Order to Show Cause Hearing
OAH Case No. 2025110650 · ALJ Cynthia Fritz
OAH vacated a sanctions hearing against Student's attorney for missing a prehearing conference. His declaration showed he mistakenly believed a dismissal had been filed, and he has fixed his office procedures.
Summary
Student's attorney, Marc Levine, did not appear at the April 10, 2026 prehearing conference and did not file a prehearing conference statement. The ALJ ordered him to explain why he should not pay costs incurred by the respondents and OAH. Levine's declaration said he believed his office had filed a dismissal and that the conference was vacated, and that he has taken steps to prevent a repeat. The respondents filed no response, so OAH vacated the order to show cause hearing. OAH warned that no dismissal had actually been filed and that all hearing dates remain on calendar.
Why it matters
Missing a prehearing conference can expose counsel to cost-shifting sanctions, but a credible explanation and corrective steps can avoid them. Parties should confirm that a dismissal was actually filed before assuming hearing dates are off calendar.
People named in the order
- Cynthia Fritz, Administrative Law Judge
- Marc Levine, Student's attorney
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:
PARENTS ON BEHALF OF STUDENT,
v.
RIVERSIDE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT.
OAH CASE NUMBER 2025110650
ORDER VACATING ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE HEARING
APRIL 16, 2026
On April 10, 2026, a prehearing conference was scheduled before Administrative Law Judge Cynthia Fritz, Office of Administrative Hearings, called OAH. The administrative law judge is called the ALJ. The prehearing conference is called PHC.
Student’s counsel, Marc Levine, did not appear at the PHC. Levine did not file a PHC statement on behalf of Student, as required under OAH procedures.
The ALJ ordered Levine to file a declaration with OAH no later than 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 14, 2026, explaining the failure to appear at the PHC on April 10, 2026, and failure to file a prehearing conference statement, and why he should not be ordered to pay costs incurred by Riverside Unified School District, California School for the Deaf, Riverside, and the Office of Administrative Hearings as a result of his failure to appear at the PHC. The respondents were given an opportunity to file responses to Levine’s declaration by 12:00 PM, April 16, 2026.
On April 14, 2026, Levine filed a declaration with sufficient explanation for the failure to appear. Levine believed his office filed a dismissal and he incorrectly believed the prehearing conference was vacated. Moreover, Levine established he took steps necessary within his office to ensure this type of error does not happen again in the future.
The respondents did not file any responses to Levine’s declaration. Accordingly, the Order to Show Cause hearing is vacated. Levine is on notice that despite his declaration, no dismissal has been submitted to OAH. Accordingly, all dates remain on calendar, including the prehearing conference set for April 17, 2026, at 3:00 PM, and the due process hearing scheduled to begin April 28, 2026.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Cynthia Fritz Administrative Law Judge Office of Administrative Hearings