ALJ Should Reject EMT Appearance Filing, Says Enforcement Bureau
FCC Administrative Law Judge Jane Halprin should reject a notice of appearance filed by EMT Trustee Dennis Watkins as ineffective, said the Enforcement Bureau in an opposition filing posted in docket 19-156 Thursday. Watkins is an attorney, but his notice…
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of appearance (see 1912190061) says he's appearing pro se, the designation usually used when non-attorney litigants appear on their own behalf. Trusts can't be represented pro se by their own trustees, the bureau said. “Whether EMT purports to be represented pro se, or by an attorney who continually refuses to appear as counsel of record, EMT has failed to fulfill its obligation to appear,” the bureau said. Halprin previously indicated if EMT didn’t file a notice of appearance by Dec. 20, the hearing proceeding could be dismissed. “EMT has continuously sought to delay and obfuscate its participation in this proceeding,” said the bureau, citing EMT’s requests for time extensions and aborted bankruptcy process. “Now that all final deadlines have passed, and in light of EMT’s 6-month-long history of thwarting this proceeding, EMT should be held accountable for failing to file an effective notice of appearance,” the bureau said. Watkins couldn’t be reached for comment, and the phone number on his appearance filing was disconnected.