10.12—Service and filing of documents; form and execution.
(a) Service by a party or other participant in a proceeding—
(1) Number of copies; when required.
Two copies of all pleadings subsequent to the complaint, all motions, petitions or applications made in the course of a proceeding (unless made orally during a hearing), all proposed findings and conclusions, all petitions for review of any initial decision, and all briefs shall be served by the party or other participant upon all parties to the proceeding.
(ii)
First-class or a more expeditious form of United States mail or a similar commercial package delivery service;
(v)
Service shall be complete at the time of personal service; upon deposit in the mail or with a similar commercial package delivery service of a properly addressed document for which all postage or delivery service fees have been paid; or upon transmission by fax or e-mail. Where a party effects service by mail or similar package delivery service (but not by fax or e-mail), the time within which the party being served may respond shall be extended by five (5) days. Service by fax or e-mail shall be permitted at the discretion of the Presiding Officer, with the parties' consent. Signed documents that are served by e-mail must be in PDF or other non-alterable form.
(3) Proof of Service.
Proof of service of a document shall be made by filing with the Proceedings Clerk, simultaneously with the filing of the required number of copies of the document, an affidavit of service executed by any person 18 years of age or older or a certificate of service executed by an attorney-at-law qualified to practice before the Commission. The proof of service shall identify the persons served, state that service has been made, set forth the date of service, and recite the manner of service.
(b) Service of decisions and orders.
A copy of all rulings, opinions and orders of the Administrative Law Judge and the Commission shall be served by the Proceedings Clerk on each of the parties. The Commission, in its discretion and with due consideration for the convenience of the parties, may serve the aforementioned documents to the parties by electronic means.
(c) Designation of person to receive service.
The first document filed in a proceeding by or on behalf of any party or participant (including the complaint and notice of hearing, the answer, and an application for intervention) shall state on the first page thereof the name and post office address of the person who is authorized to receive service for him of all documents filed in the proceeding. Thereafter service of documents shall be made upon the person authorized unless service on the party himself is ordered by the Administrative Law Judge or the Commission, or unless no person authorized to receive service can be found, or unless the person authorized is changed by the party upon due notice to all other parties.
(d) Filing of documents with the Proceedings Clerk.
(1)
All documents which are required to be served upon a party shall be filed concurrently with the Proceedings Clerk. A document shall be filed by delivering it in person or by certified or registered mail with return receipt requested to Proceedings Clerk, Office of Proceedings, Three Lafayette Centre, 1155 21st Street, NW., Washington, DC 20581; or faxing the document to (202) 418-5532 or e-mailing it to (PROC_Filings@cftc.gov) in accordance with the conditions set forth in paragraph (a)(2) of this section.
(2)
To be timely filed, a document must be received by the Proceedings Clerk within the time prescribed for filing.
(e) Formalities of filing—
(1) Number of copies.
Unless otherwise specifically provided, an original and five conformed copies of all documents shall be filed with the Proceedings Clerk.
(2) Title page.
All documents filed with the Proceedings Clerk must include at the head thereof, or on a title page, the name of the Commission, the docket number and title of the proceeding, the subject of the particular document and the name of the person in whose behalf the document is being filed. In the complaint the title of the action shall include the names of all the respondents, but in documents subsequently filed it is sufficient to state the name of the first respondent named in the complaint with an appropriate indication of other parties.
(3) Paper, spacing, type.
All documents filed under this part shall be typewritten, mimeographed, printed, or otherwise reproduced by a process that produces permanent and plainly legible copies, shall be on one grade of good unglazed white paper no less than 8 or more than 8 1/2 inches wide and no less than 10 1/2 or more than 14 inches long, with a left-hand margin 1 1/2 inches wide, and shall be bound on the top only. They shall be double spaced, except for long quotations (3 or more lines) and footnotes, which should be single-spaced. If printed, the documents shall be in either 10- or 12-point type with double-leaded text and single-leaded quotations and footnotes.
(4) Signatures.
The original copy of all papers must be signed in ink by the person filing the same or by his duly authorized agent or attorney.
(5) Length and form of briefs.
All briefs filed with the Proceedings Clerk containing more than ten pages shall include an index and a table of cases and other authorities cited. The date of each brief must appear on its front cover or title page and on its signature page. No brief shall exceed 60 pages in length, except with the permission of the Administrative Law Judge or, by the Commission, to whomever the brief is directed.
(6) Documents improperly tendered for filing.
No document will be accepted unless it complies with the requirements of this paragraph concerning form, filing, subscription, service and other similar matters. A document tendered but not accepted for filing shall not be entered on the Proceedings Clerk's docket, but a motion may be made to the Administrative Law Judge for leave to file an otherwise unauthorized document.
(f) Subscriptions—
(1) By whom.
Pleadings, petitions, motions and answers thereto, briefs and other documents filed with the Commission shall be subscribed:
(ii)
By a partner, officer or director of a partnership, corporation, association, or other legal entity; or
The Proceedings Clerk may require appropriate evidence of the authority of a person subscribing a document on behalf of another person.
(2) Effect.
The signature on a document of any person acting either for himself or as attorney or agent for another constitutes a certification by him that:
(ii)
If executed in any representative capacity, it was done with full power and authority to do so;
(iii)
To the best of his knowledge, information and belief, every statement contained in the document is true and not misleading; and
(3) Sham documents.
If a document is not signed or is signed with an intent to defeat the purpose of this rule, it may be stricken as sham and false. For a willful violation of this rule an attorney may be subjected to appropriate disciplinary action pursuant to § 10.11(b). Similar action may be taken if scandalous matter is inserted.
(g) Official docket.
The Proceedings Clerk will maintain the official docket for each proceeding. The official docket is available for public inspection in the Commission's Office of Proceedings.