USA – CALIFORNIA LAW AND PRACTICE Contributed by: Nora Sheriff, Gwenneth O’Hara, Robert Dato, Efrat Cogan, Samir Hafez and Antonio Carrejo, Buchalter
governing response times, although the custom - ary deadline is ten business days. The request - ing party may seek a shorter deadline, or indi - cate whether a longer one is acceptable. If the responding party considers any information pro - prietary or confidential, the requesting party may need to sign a non-disclosure agreement before obtaining access. 8.2 Alternatives to Disclosure/Discovery The CPUC and its staff have broad authority to obtain information from public utilities to ensure that it has all relevant information necessary to render a reasoned decision. Pursuant to that authority, an assigned ALJ or Commissioner may order the production of additional informa - tion necessary to ensure the CPUC has all rel - evant information to resolve issues in a hearing or proceeding. Parties may also request the CPUC to issue a subpoena compelling a non-party witness to testify or produce documents under their control. The Commission or any party in an investigation or hearing has statutory authority to “compel the attendance of witnesses and the produc- tion of books, waybills, documents, papers, and accounts” . Likewise, when reviewing an advice letter, the Industry Division may request additional infor - mation from a utility before issuing its disposi - tion. 8.3 Live Evidence and Cross- Examination CPUC proceedings do not usually have live evidence; rather, prepared direct testimony is offered in advance, with subsequent cross- examination of witnesses to build the record for the CPUC’s decision. All hearings, investigations, and proceedings conducted by the Commission
are governed by the Public Utilities Code and the CPUC Rules of Practice and Procedure. The record is developed during evidentiary hear - ings with the assigned Commissioner or the assigned Administrative Law Judge as the pre - siding officer, depending on the type of proceed - ing: adjudicatory, rate-setting, quasi-legislative, or catastrophic wildfire. In hearings, the tech - nical rules of evidence are not strictly applied. Prepared direct testimony and exhibits may be entered into evidence with neither direct exami - nation nor cross examination. The Commission may also take official notice of matters that may be judicially noticed, and the presiding hearing officer may ask for additional evidence to inform the Commission’s considera - tion. The Commission will issue a final decision based on its consideration of the law and the evidence in the record. 9. Time Limits and Preliminary Steps 9.1 Preliminary Requirements While pre-action correspondence is not required before a challenge may be filed in the Court of Appeal seeking review of a Commission deci - sion, the Commission adoption of a decision on the rehearing application is usually a necessary pre-requisite. Additionally, a party may file an application for rehearing only after an order or decision has been made by the Commission. However, if the Commission does not act on the application for rehearing within 60 days of filing, the applicant can deem the application “denied” and seek judicial review.
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