Section 12.18 - Answer; election of procedureAn answer filed pursuant to § 12.16 of these rules shall meet the following requirements:
(a)Content. Each answer shall contain:(1) The full name, current address and telephone number (during business hours) of each respondent on whose behalf the answer is filed;(2) A complete description of each registrant's case, including but not limited to, a precise and detailed statement of the facts which constitute each registrant's ground for defense;(3) Admissions, if any, as to the registrant's liability for the amount (or any portion thereof) claimed as damages;(4) A statement indicating whether the registrant is (and if the answer is filed on behalf of two or more registrants, which if any of them are) in receivership or subject to bankruptcy proceedings;(5) A statement indicating whether an arbitration or civil court litigation, based on the same set of facts set forth in the complaint (involving any or all of the parties named therein), is pending;(6) A counterclaim which the registrant wishes to pursue under § 12.19 of these rules;(7) An election of an alternative decisional procedure pursuant to subparts C, D, or E of these rules. (A proceeding pursuant to subpart D may be elected only if the amount of actual damages claimed in the complaint or as counterclaims, exclusive of interest, costs, and punitive damages, does not exceed $30,000. A procedure pursuant to subpart E may be elected only if the amount of actual damages claimed in the complaint or as counterclaims, exclusive of interest, costs, and punitive damages exceeds $30,000;(8) If appropriate, a filing fee in the amount prescribed by § 12.25 shall be submitted with an answer at the time of its filing.(b)Motion for reconsideration of determination to forward the complaint. An answer may include a motion for reconsideration of the determination to forward the complaint, specifying the grounds therefor, which the Director of the Office of Proceedings, in their discretion, may grant by terminating the case pursuant to § 12.27 , or deny by forwarding the pleadings and matters of record for an elected decisional proceeding pursuant to § 12.26 . The inclusion in an answer of a motion for reconsideration shall not preclude a respondent, if the motion is denied, from moving for dismissal at a later stage of the proceeding for the same reasons cited in a motion for reconsideration pursuant to this paragraph (b).(c)Subscription and verification of the answer. An answer shall be signed personally by each registrant on behalf of whom it is filed or by a duly authorized officer or agent of any such registrant who is not a natural person. Each registrant's signature shall be given under oath, or by affirmation under penalty of law, attesting that the signer has read the answer; that to the best of the signer's knowledge all of the statements in the answer, the counterclaim (if any), and the materials required by this part to be appended thereto, are accurate and true, and that the answer (and counterclaim, if any) has not been interposed for delay.(d)Affidavit of service. The registrant shall file with the answer an affidavit showing that a true copy of the answer has been served upon the complainant, either personally or by first-class mail addressed to the complainant at the address set forth in the complaint.(e)Time and place of filing an answer. An answer shall be filed by delivering a copy thereof, in proper form to the Office of Proceedings at the Commission's Washington, DC headquarters. The answer may be filed in person, during normal business hours, or by certified mail, or registered mail with return receipt requested.49 FR 6621, Feb. 22, 1984, as amended at 59 FR 9637, Mar. 1, 1994; 60 FR 49335, Sept. 25, 1995; 86 FR 64353, Nov. 18, 2021; 89 FR 71808, Sept. 4, 2024 86 FR 64353, 11/18/2021; 89 FR 71808, 9/4/2024