§ 2700.4 Parties, intervenors, and amici curiae.

(a) Party status. A person, including the Secretary or an operator, who is named as a party or who is permitted to intervene, is a party. In a proceeding instituted by the Secretary under section 105(c)(2) of the Act, 30 U.S.C. 815(c)(2), the complainant on whose behalf the Secretary has filed the complaint is a party and may present additional evidence on his own behalf. A miner, applicant for employment, or representative of a miner who has filed a complaint with the Commission under section 105(c)(3) or 111 of the Act, 30 U.S.C. 815(c)(3) and 821, and an affected miner or his representative who has become a party in accordance with paragraph (b) of this section, are parties.

(b) Intervention —

(1) Intervention by affected miners and their representatives. Before a case has been assigned to a Judge, affected miners or their representatives shall be permitted to intervene upon filing a written notice of intervention with the Executive Director, Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission, 1331 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Suite 520N, Washington, DC 20004–1710. If the case has been assigned to a Judge, the notice of intervention shall be filed with the Judge. The Commission or the Judge shall mail forthwith a copy of the notice to all parties. After the start of the hearing, affected miners or their representatives may intervene upon just terms and for good cause shown.

(2) Intervention by other persons.

(i) Motions by other persons for leave to intervene shall be filed before the start of a hearing on the merits unless the Judge, for good cause shown, allows a later filing. The motion shall set forth:

(A) The interest of the movant relating to the property or events that are the subject of the proceeding;

(B) The reasons why such interest is not otherwise adequately represented by the parties already involved in the proceeding; and

(C) A showing that intervention will not unduly delay or prejudice the adjudication of the issues.

(ii) Such intervention is not a matter of right but of the sound discretion of the Judge. In denying a motion to intervene, the Judge may alternatively permit the movant to participate in the proceeding as amicus curiae.

(c) Procedure for participation as amicus curiae. Any person may move to participate as amicus curiae in a proceeding before a Judge. Such participation as amicus curiae shall not be a matter of right but of the sound discretion of the Judge. A motion for participation as amicus curiae shall set forth the interest of the movant and show that the granting of the motion will not unduly delay or prejudice the adjudication of the issues. If the Judge permits amicus curiae participation, the Judge's order shall specify the time within which such amicus curiae memorandum, brief, or other pleading must be filed and the time within which a reply may be made. The movant may conditionally attach its memorandum, brief, or other pleading to its motion for participation as amicus curiae.

[58 FR 12164, Mar. 3, 1993, as amended at 67 FR 60862, Sept. 27, 2002; 77 FR 48430, Aug. 14, 2012]