All hearings in adjudication proceedings will be public unless a confidentiality order is entered by the hearing officer pursuant to § 1081.119 or unless otherwise ordered by the Director on the grounds that holding an open hearing would be contrary to the public interest.

Failure of a respondent to appear in person or by a duly authorized counsel at the hearing constitutes a waiver of respondent's right to a hearing and may be deemed an admission of the facts as alleged and consent to the relief sought in the notice of charges. Without further proceedings or notice to the respondent, the hearing officer will file preliminary findings and conclusions containing findings of fact and addressing the relief sought in the notice of charges.

All hearings will be conducted in a fair, impartial, expeditious, and orderly manner. Enforcement counsel will present its case-in-chief first, unless otherwise ordered by the hearing officer, or unless otherwise expressly specified by law or regulation. Enforcement counsel will be the first party to present an opening statement and a closing statement, and may make a rebuttal statement after the respondent's closing statement. If there are multiple respondents, respondents may agree among themselves as to their order of presentation of their cases, but if they do not agree, the hearing officer will fix the order.

(a) Burden of proof. Enforcement counsel will have the burden of proof of the ultimate issue(s) of the Bureau's claims at the hearing.

(b) Admissibility. (1) Except as is otherwise set forth in this section, relevant, material, and reliable evidence that is not unduly repetitive is admissible to the fullest extent authorized by the Administrative Procedure Act and other applicable law. Irrelevant, immaterial, and unreliable evidence will be excluded.

(2) Evidence, even if relevant, may be excluded if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice or confusion of the issues; if the evidence would be misleading; or based on considerations of undue delay, waste of time, or needless presentation of cumulative evidence.

(3) Evidence that constitutes hearsay may be admitted if it is relevant, material, and bears satisfactory indicia of reliability so that its use is fair. Hearsay is a statement, other than one made by the declarant while testifying at the hearing, offered in evidence to prove the truth of the matter asserted. If otherwise meeting the standards for admissibility described in this section, transcripts of depositions, investigational hearings, prior testimony in Bureau or other proceedings, and any other form of hearsay will be admissible and may not be excluded solely on the ground that they are or contain hearsay.

(4) Evidence that would be admissible under the Federal Rules of Evidence is admissible in a proceeding conducted pursuant to this part. Evidence that would be inadmissible under the Federal Rules of Evidence may not be deemed or ruled to be inadmissible in a proceeding conducted pursuant to this part solely on that basis.

(c) Official notice. Official notice may be taken of any material fact that is not subject to reasonable dispute in that it is either generally known or capable of accurate and ready determination by resort to sources whose accuracy cannot reasonably be questioned. If official notice is requested or is taken of a material fact not appearing in the evidence in the record, the parties, upon timely request, will be afforded an opportunity to disprove such noticed fact.

(d) Documents. (1) A duplicate copy of a document is admissible to the same extent as the original, unless a genuine issue is raised as to whether the copy is in some material respect not a true and legible copy of the original.

(2) Subject to the requirements of paragraph (b) of this section, any document, including a report of examination, supervisory activity, inspection or visitation, prepared by the Bureau, a prudential regulator, as that term is defined in section 1002(24) of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5481(24)), or by a State regulatory agency, is presumptively admissible either with or without a sponsoring witness.

(3) Witnesses may use existing or newly created charts, exhibits, calendars, calculations, outlines, or other graphic material to summarize, illustrate, or simplify the presentation of testimony. Such materials may, subject to the hearing officer's discretion, be used with or without being admitted into evidence.

(4) As respondents are in the best position to determine the nature of documents generated by such respondents and which come from their own files, the burden of proof is on the respondent to introduce evidence to rebut a presumption that such documents are authentic and kept in the regular course of business.

(e) Objections. (1) Objections to the admissibility of evidence must be timely made and rulings on all objections must appear on the record.

(2) Whenever evidence is excluded from the record, the party offering such evidence may make an offer of proof, which will be included in the record. Rejected exhibits, adequately marked for identification, must be retained pursuant to § 1081.306(b) so as to be available for consideration by any reviewing authority.

(3) Failure to object to admission of evidence or to any ruling constitutes a waiver of the objection.

(f) Stipulations. (1) The parties may, at any stage of the proceeding, stipulate as to any relevant matters of fact or the authentication of any relevant documents. Such stipulations must be received in evidence at a hearing and are binding on the parties with respect to the matters therein stipulated.

(2) Unless the hearing officer directs otherwise, all stipulations of fact and law previously agreed upon by the parties, and all documents, the admissibility of which have been previously stipulated, will be admitted into evidence upon commencement of the hearing.

(g) Presentation of evidence. (1) A witness at a hearing for the purpose of taking evidence must testify under oath or affirmation.

(2) A party is entitled to present its case or defense by sworn oral testimony and documentary evidence, to submit rebuttal evidence, and to conduct such cross-examination as, in the discretion of the hearing officer, may be required for a full and true disclosure of the facts.

(3) An adverse party, or an officer, agent, or employee thereof, and any witness who appears to be hostile, unwilling, or evasive, may be interrogated by leading questions and may also be contradicted and impeached by the party calling him or her.

(4) The hearing officer will exercise reasonable control over the mode and order of interrogating witnesses and presenting evidence so as to:

(i) Make the interrogation and presentation effective for the ascertainment of the truth;

(ii) Avoid needless consumption of time; and

(iii) Protect witnesses from harassment or undue embarrassment.

(5) The hearing officer may permit a witness to appear at a hearing via electronic means for good cause shown.

(h) Introducing prior sworn statements of witnesses into the record. At a hearing, any party wishing to introduce a prior, sworn statement of a witness, not a party, otherwise admissible in the proceeding, may make a motion setting forth the reasons therefore. If only part of a statement is offered in evidence, the hearing officer may require that all relevant portions of the statement be introduced. If all of a statement is offered in evidence, the hearing officer may require that portions not relevant to the proceeding be excluded. A motion to introduce a prior sworn statement may be granted if:

(1) The witness is dead;

(2) The witness is out of the United States, unless it appears that the absence of the witness was procured by the party offering the prior sworn statement;

(3) The witness is unable to attend or testify because of age, sickness, infirmity, imprisonment, or other disability;

(4) The party offering the prior sworn statement has been unable to procure the attendance of the witness by subpoena; or

(5) In the discretion of the hearing officer, it would be desirable, in the interests of justice, to allow the prior sworn statement to be used. In making this determination, due regard will be given to the presumption that witnesses will testify orally in an open hearing. If the parties have stipulated to accept a prior sworn statement in lieu of live testimony, consideration should also be given to the convenience of the parties in avoiding unnecessary expense.

(a) Reporting and transcription. Hearings will be stenographically reported and transcribed under the supervision of the hearing officer, and the original transcript will be a part of the record and the sole official transcript. The live oral testimony of each witness may be video recorded digitally, in which case the video recording and the written transcript of the testimony will be made part of the record. Copies of transcripts will be available from the reporter at prescribed rates.

(b) Corrections. Corrections of the official transcript may be made only when they involve errors affecting substance and then only in the manner provided in this paragraph (b). Corrections ordered by the hearing officer or agreed to in a written stipulation signed by all counsel and parties not represented by counsel, and approved by the hearing officer, will be included in the record, and such stipulations, except to the extent they are capricious or without substance, must be approved by the hearing officer. Corrections will not be ordered by the hearing officer except upon notice and opportunity for the hearing of objections. Such corrections must be made by the official reporter by furnishing substitute type pages, under the usual certificate of the reporter, for insertion in the official record. The original uncorrected pages will be retained in the files of the Bureau.

(c) Closing of the hearing record. Upon completion of the hearing, the hearing officer will issue an order closing the hearing record after giving the parties seven days to determine if the record is complete or needs to be supplemented. The hearing officer retains the discretion to permit or order correction of the record as provided in paragraph (b) of this section.

(a) Proposed findings and conclusions and supporting briefs. (1) Using the same method of service for each party, the hearing officer will serve notice upon each party that the certified transcript, together with all hearing exhibits and exhibits introduced but not admitted into evidence at the hearing, has been filed promptly after that filing. Any party may file with the hearing officer proposed findings of fact, proposed conclusions of law, and a proposed order within 28 days following service of this notice by the hearing officer or within such longer period as may be ordered by the hearing officer.

(2) Proposed findings and conclusions must be supported by citation to any relevant authorities and by page references to any relevant portions of the record. A post-hearing brief may be filed in support of proposed findings and conclusions, either as part of the same document or in a separate document.

(b) Responsive briefs. Responsive briefs may be filed within 14 days after the date on which the parties' proposed findings, conclusions, and order are due. Responsive briefs must be strictly limited to responding to matters, issues, or arguments raised in another party's papers. A party who has not filed proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law or a post-hearing brief may not file a responsive brief. Unless directed by the hearing officer, reply briefs are not permitted.

(c) Order of filing. The hearing officer may not order the filing by any party of any post-hearing brief or responsive brief in advance of the other party's filing of its post-hearing brief or responsive brief.

(a) Contents of the record. The record of the proceeding consists of:

(1) The notice of charges, the answer, and any amendments thereto;

(2) Each motion, submission, or other paper filed in the proceedings, and any amendments and exceptions to or regarding them;

(3) Each stipulation, transcript of testimony, and any document or other item admitted into evidence;

(4) Any transcript of a conference or hearing before the hearing officer;

(5) Any amicus briefs filed pursuant to § 1081.216;

(6) With respect to a request to disqualify a hearing officer or to allow the hearing officer's withdrawal under § 1081.105(c), each affidavit or transcript of testimony taken and the decision made in connection with the request;

(7) All motions, briefs, and other papers filed on interlocutory appeal;

(8) All proposed findings and conclusions;

(9) Each written order issued by the hearing officer or Director; and

(10) Any other document or item accepted into the record by the hearing officer.

(b) Retention of documents not admitted. Any document offered into evidence but excluded will not be considered part of the record. The Office of Administrative Adjudication will retain any such document until the later of the date upon which an order by the Director ending the proceeding becomes final and not appealable, or upon the conclusion of any judicial review of the Director's order.

(c) Substitution of copies. A true copy of a document may be substituted for any document in the record or any document retained pursuant to paragraph (b) of this section.