[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 14, Volume 1]
[Revised as of January 1, 2007]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 14CFR17.37]

[Page 115-116]
 
                     TITLE 14--AERONAUTICS AND SPACE
 
CHAPTER I--FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
 
PART 17_PROCEDURES FOR PROTESTS AND CONTRACTS DISPUTES--Table of 
Contents
 
                 Subpart E_Default Adjudicative Process
 
Sec.  17.37  Default adjudicative process for protests.


    (a) Other than for the resolution of preliminary or dispositive 
matters, the Default Adjudicative Process for protests will commence 
upon the submission of the Product Team Response to the Office of 
Dispute Resolution for Acquisition, pursuant to Sec.  17.17.
    (b) The Director of the Office of Dispute Resolution for Acquisition 
shall select a DRO or a Special Master to conduct fact-finding 
proceedings and to provide findings and recommendations concerning some 
or all of the matters in controversy.
    (c) The DRO or Special Master may prepare procedural orders for the 
proceedings as deemed appropriate; and may require additional 
submissions from the parties. As a minimum, the protester and any 
intervenor(s) must submit to the Office of Dispute Resolution for 
Acquisition written comments with respect to the Product Team Response 
within five (5) business days of the Response having been filed with the 
Office of Dispute Resolution for Acquisition or within five (5) business 
days of their receipt of the Response, whichever is later. Copies of 
such comments shall be provided to the other participating parties by 
the same means and on the same date as they are furnished to the Office 
of Dispute Resolution for Acquisition.
    (d) The DRO or Special Master may convene the parties and/or their 
representatives, as needed, to pursue the Default Adjudicative Process.
    (e) If, in the sole judgment of the DRO or Special Master, the 
parties have presented written material sufficient to allow the protest 
to be decided on the record presented, the DRO or Special Master shall 
have the discretion to decide the protest on that basis.
    (f) The parties may engage in voluntary discovery with one another 
and, if justified, with non-parties, so as to obtain information 
relevant to the allegations of the protest. The DRO or Special Master 
may also direct the parties to exchange, in an expedited manner, 
relevant, non-privileged documents. Where justified, the DRO or Special 
Master may direct the taking of deposition testimony, however, the FAA 
dispute resolution process does not contemplate extensive discovery. The 
DRO or Special Master shall manage the discovery process, including 
limiting its length and availability, and shall establish schedules and 
deadlines for discovery, which are consistent with time frames 
established in this part and with the FAA policy of providing fair and 
expeditious dispute resolution.
    (g) The DRO or Special Master may conduct hearings, and may limit 
the hearings to the testimony of specific witnesses and/or presentations 
regarding specific issues. The DRO or Special Master shall control the 
nature and conduct of all hearings, including the sequence and extent of 
any testimony. Hearings will be conducted:
    (1) Where the DRO or Special Master determines that there are 
complex factual issues in dispute that cannot adequately or efficiently 
be developed solely by means of written presentations and/or that 
resolution of the controversy will be dependent on his/her assessment of 
the credibility of statements provided by individuals with first-hand 
knowledge of the facts; or
    (2) Upon request of any party to the protest, unless the DRO or 
Special Master finds specifically that a hearing is unnecessary and that 
no party will be prejudiced by limiting the record in the adjudication 
to the parties' written submissions. All witnesses at any such hearing 
shall be subject to cross-examination by the opposing party and to 
questioning by the DRO or Special Master.
    (h) The Director of the Office of Dispute Resolution for Acquisition 
may review the status of any protest in the Default Adjudicative Process 
with the DRO or Special Master during the pendency of the process.
    (i) Within thirty (30) business days of the commencement of the 
Default Adjudicative Process, or at the discretion of the Office of 
Dispute Resolution for Acquisition, the DRO or Special Master will 
submit findings and recommendations to the Office of Dispute Resolution 
for Acquisition that shall contain the following:

[[Page 116]]

    (1) Findings of fact;
    (2) Application of the principles of the AMS, and any applicable law 
or authority to the findings of fact;
    (3) A recommendation for a final FAA order; and
    (4) If appropriate, suggestions for future FAA action.
    (j) In arriving at findings and recommendations relating to 
protests, the DRO or Special Master shall consider whether or not the 
Product Team actions in question had a rational basis, and whether or 
not the Product Team decision under question was arbitrary, capricious 
or an abuse of discretion. Findings of fact underlying the 
recommendations must be supported by substantial evidence.
    (k) The DRO or Special Master has broad discretion to recommend a 
remedy that is consistent with Sec.  17.21.
    (l) A DRO or Special Master shall submit findings and 
recommendations only to the Director of the Office of Dispute Resolution 
for Acquisition. The findings and recommendations will be released to 
the parties and to the public, only upon issuance of the final FAA order 
in the case. Should an Office of Dispute Resolution for Acquisition 
protective order be issued in connection with the protest, a redacted 
version of the findings and recommendations, omitting any protected 
information, shall be prepared wherever possible and released to the 
public along with a copy of the final FAA order. Only persons admitted 
by the Office of Dispute Resolution for Acquisition under the protective 
order and Government personnel shall be provided copies of the 
unredacted findings and recommendations.
    (m) The time limitations set forth in this section may be extended 
by the Office of Dispute Resolution for Acquisition for good cause.