Prehearing conference.

§ 280.213 Prehearing conference. (a) The administrative law judge, on his or her own motion or on request of a party, may direct the parties to participate in a prehearing conference, either in person or by telephone, to consider: (1) Simplification of issues; (2) The necessity or desirability of amendments to pleadings; (3) Obtaining stipulations of fact and of documents to avoid unnecessary proof; or (4) Such other matters as may expedite the disposition of the proceedings. (b) The administrative law judge may order the conference proceedings to be recorded electronically or taken by a reporter, transcribed and filed with the ALJ. (c) If a prehearing conference is impracticable, the administrative law judge may direct the parties to correspond with the ALJ to achieve the purposes of such a conference. (d) The administrative law judge will prepare a summary of any actions agreed on or taken pursuant to this section. The summary will include any written stipulations or agreements made by the parties.