Rule
2.08.
Service
(a) By the Commission
Process issued by the Commission, as well as notices,
complaints, Rules, orders, and regulations of the Commission, may be served by
any person authorized to serve process issued out of courts of law, by mail, by
facsimile, by commercial delivery service, by electronic mail, or other method
as directed by the Commission. Where service is by mail, a duplicate of the
instrument served shall be enclosed, upon which duplicate the Person served
shall endorse the date of receipt of the original and promptly return the
duplicate to the Commission. Where service is by electronic mail, the Secretary
shall request a read receipt or similar process to indicate reception of the
electronic mail and shall preserve the receipt until the Docket is closed. The
recipient shall have the duty to acknowledge receipt of the electronic
mail.
(b) By Parties
(1) Except for a pleading which initiates a
Docket, and unless otherwise provided in the RPPs or by Commission order, all
documents a Party files shall include a certificate:
(A) showing simultaneous service of the
document upon all Persons on the Official Service List who do not have
electronic mail and noting the name of each and the method and date of service,
and
(B) noting electronic service
pursuant to the Commission's Electronic Filing System for Persons on the
Official Service List with an electronic mail address. No further service is
required.
(2) For
Persons on the Official Service List without electronic mail, service shall be
made by personal delivery; properly addressed first class mail or commercial
delivery service (with charges prepaid); facsimile transmission; or other
method approved by the Commission.
(c) Service is presumptively complete as
follows:
(1) When filing electronically, at
the time the document is filed electronically and sent to the Persons on the
Official Service List with an electronic mail address by the Secretary pursuant
to the electronic filing system;
(2) By electronic mail, upon sending to the
electronic mail address on the Official Service List;
(3) By facsimile, upon sending to the
facsimile number on the Official Service List;
(4) By personal delivery, upon delivery to
the address on the Official Service List;
(5) By mail, upon mailing to the address on
the Official Service List; or
(6)
By commercial delivery service, upon depositing the papers with the commercial
delivery company properly addressed to the address on the Official Service
List.
(d) Computation of
Time for Performance or Response
In computing the time within which an act must be performed or
a response made, the day of the act from which the designated period of time
begins to run shall not be included and the last day shall be included unless
it is a Saturday, Sunday, Legal Holiday, or other day in which the Commission's
office is closed, in which event the period shall extend to the next business
day. If service to a Party is by mail, three (3) business days shall be added
to the time allowed for that Party for response to, or compliance with, any
pleading or order.
[THE FOLLOWING ARE NEW RULES TO BE ADDED TO SECTION 2 OF
THE CURRENTLY-EFFECTIVE RULES OF PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE]
Rule 2.12.
Filings
(a) Generally
(1) All documents submitted to the Commission
for filing in a docket or to be received by the Secretary shall fully conform
to these Rules. Any filing not conforming to the requirements of the RPPs or
applicable order may be rejected by the Secretary or stricken by the
Commission, either sua sponte on its own or on motion. The
filing of a document is not a determination or waiver of compliance with the
RPPs or applicable order.
(2) For
purposes of these Rules, use of the term "filing" (or "filings" or "filed" or
similar usage) shall include, where appropriate, those documents which are
"received" by the Secretary.
(3)
Users of the Commission's Electronic Filing System shall comply with all
applicable instructions for electronic filing which are presented on the
Commission's website for electronic filing.
(b) Filing Methods
All filings shall be made with the Secretary and shall be by
one of the following means:
(1)
Electronic filing through the Commission's Electronic Filing System on its
website;
(2) In person at the
Secretary's Office at 1000 Center Street, Little Rock, Arkansas; or
(3) By mail to P.O. Box 400, Little Rock,
Arkansas 72203.
Electronic filing is the Commission's preferred filing method.
All Persons filing documents with the Commission are encouraged to file
electronically to the greatest extent possible.
(c) Protected Documents Filing Exception
Unredacted documents which contain materials subject to a
protective order shall not be filed electronically, but rather submitted in
person or by mail with the Secretary.
(d) Time of Filing
Electronic filings may be downloaded to the Commission's
electronic filing system at any time. All other filings (in person or by mail)
shall be made during the Commission's normal business hours. The Commission's
normal business hours are posted on its website. Any electronic filing received
after normal business hours but before midnight or received on a non-business
day shall be deemed filed and served on Persons on the Official Service List
with electronic mail on the next business day. Any electronic filing received
between midnight and the beginning of normal business hours on a business day
shall be deemed filed and served on Persons on the Official Service List with
electronic mail on that business day. If the Commission offices are closed at
the time of a filing deadline, the time for complying with the filing deadline
shall be extended to the same filing deadline time on the next business
day.
(e) Acceptance of
Electronic Filing
(1) A document shall not be
considered filed electronically until submitted via the Commission's electronic
filing system and the Commission's electronic filing system generates a receipt
of electronic filing.
(2) Risk of
loss of transmission, of non-receipt, or of illegibility is upon the person
transmitting and filing electronically. If a filing is made electronically, the
filer must receive a notice of electronic filing from the Secretary to be
assured that the filing was received and accepted for filing. Otherwise, a
filing is confirmed by the file stamp on the document.
(f) Technical Failures
(1) The standards for declaring a technical
failure of the electronic filing system shall be posted on the Commission's
website.
(2) A filing party whose
filing is made untimely as the result of a technical failure of the
Commission's electronic filing system may seek appropriate relief from the
Commission.
(g)
Correction of Electronic Filings
Once a document is filed electronically, corrections to the
filing may only be made by the Secretary. The Commission's electronic filing
system shall not permit the filing party to make changes to the document(s) or
filing information once the transaction has been submitted. If a filing error
is made, the filing party shall contact the Secretary as soon as possible with
the correct document(s) or filing information, as appropriate.
Rule 2.13.
Signatures on Electronically Filed Documents
(a) A pleading or other document filed
electronically which requires a signature may be signed in the following
manner: "/s/ (name)."
(b) If the
filed document bears an original non-electronic signature, the Person filing
the document shall maintain the original document. This includes all notarized
documents.
