Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 45, November 8, 2024
Section 150-1-4 - Filings and Service of Filings4.1. Filings. 4.1.1. The Executive Secretary shall stamp with the date of receipt all communications addressed to the Commission and file all petitions, applications, answers, pleadings, reports, exhibits, depositions, transcripts, orders and other papers or documents.4.1.2. All papers, of whatever character, offered for filing in any case shall show the title and style of the case and the docket number. The Executive Secretary is not required to file unidentified papers.4.1.3. All papers, other than complaints and engineering plans and specifications, offered for filing in any case shall include an original and twelve (12) copies. One of the twelve (12) copies shall be filed unbound (or bound only with paper clips or binder clips to facilitate document scanning.) The foregoing requirement applies to discovery requests. A party shall file one copy of its engineering plans and specifications. A party shall file only the original complaint. A pro se complainant shall file only originals of any paper filed in a case. A party may make filings by facsimile provided that the faxed document is addressed to the Executive Secretary, does not exceed 20 pages, includes a certificate that the filer mailed the original to the Executive Secretary on the same day that the facsimile was sent and that the filer faxed the filing at the same time to all other parties in the case, if possible. The original mailed to the Executive Secretary must be accompanied by the requisite number of copies. The filing party must comply with all other notice and service requirements. A party may obtain a date-stamped copy of its filing by a request which includes an additional copy of the filing along with a stamped, self-addressed envelope.4.1.4. A party or an entity seeking party status, that is not a corporation or limited liability company, including foreign and professional limited liability companies, may make any filings with the Commission by either a duly authorized person or by an attorney at law. A party or entity seeking party status that is a corporation or limited liability company, may file preliminary filings by either a duly authorized person or an attorney at law. A party or entity seeking party status that is a corporation or limited liability company making filings that are not preliminary filings must do so by an attorney at law. Professionals other than attorneys, retained by a party or an entity seeking party status, may not file pleadings with the Commission but may file responses to data requests, unless the party is represented by an attorney, in which case all filings shall be made by the attorney. 4.1.4.a. For purposes of this rule, the following definitions apply: (1) the term "a party or an entity seeking party status" is defined as an individual, partnership, association, cooperative, limited liability company, including a foreign or a professional limited liability company, or corporation; (2) the term "attorney at law" includes attorneys admitted to practice before the Courts of this State, before the Courts of last resort of other states, or before the Supreme Court of the United States; provided that attorneys filing pleadings before the Commission who are not licensed to practice in West Virginia shall have sought and obtained permission to practice before the Commission for each proceeding in which they participate in compliance with Rule 8.0 of the Rules for Admission to the Practice of Law of the State of West Virginia;(3) the term "preliminary filings" includes pre-filings, petitions, applications, complaints, and answers;(4) the term "duly authorized person" is defined as the individual when an individual is a party or seeks party status, a partner in a partnership, the president of an association, or cooperative, or the chairman of the board, chief executive officer, or general manager of a corporation, or other entity.4.1.5. The Executive Secretary will electronically scan all filings for posting on the Commission's web docket for public viewing, except for confidential information or information that should not be scanned as directed by the Commission. If a filer believes that a filing contains sensitive or confidential information, then the filer shall make two separate filings, one of which shall be redacted, and the other shall be un-redacted and filed under seal.4.1.6. All filings of information under seal shall include an original and 2 copies in a sealed envelope, with a cover letter attached to the outside of the sealed envelope generally identifying the sealed information and stating that the filer intends to file the enclosed information under seal. All such filings must be accompanied by a statement that the filer will file its motion for protective treatment within one week.4.1.7. Voluminous filings of 300 or more pages shall include a copy on electronic media of documents in PDF file format and an electronic version of any spreadsheet or data file exhibits. The filings should be broken into individual PDF documents, each with a specific file name, with a file size of no more than 200 megabytes. An index should be provided on the cover letter stating the full path with filename and description for each file. A copy of the cover letter should also be provided on the electronic media. At this time acceptable electronic media includes CD-Rom and DVD-Rom.4.1.8. Filings containing color maps, other colored documents, or documents larger than 8.5" by 11" shall be filed in PDF file format.4.2. Reserved for Electronic Filing Rules.4.3. Service of Filings. 4.3.1. At the same time that a party makes a filing with the Executive Secretary of the Commission, the party shall serve a copy of the filing on the attorney for each party, or on the party him or herself if not represented by an attorney, by email, if a party has provided an email address for purposes of service, or first class mail. The filing party shall certify to the Executive Secretary that service has been made.4.3.2. A party filing an answer, request for amendment, motion, response or reply to a filing made under the previous subsection, or to a Staff memorandum shall certify to the Executive Secretary that the filing party has served a copy on all other parties to a proceeding.4.3.3. Except for formal complaint cases filed by utility customers, the Executive Secretary shall make a service list for all docketed cases available on the Commission's web docket. The service lists shall provide names, mailing addresses, email addresses, if provided by a party for purposes of service, but shall not include telephone numbers. To obtain a service list in a customer formal complaint case, parties or petitioners may send an electronic mail containing the case number to caseinfo@psc.state.wv.us.