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Summary
These are proceedings pursuant to Exchange Act Section 12(j) to determine if the registration of three companies should be suspended due to delinquent filings. The Chief ALJ moved that the Commission extend the time for the initial decision. The proceedings have been delayed due to the Commission's consideration of a Division of Enforcement motion to strike a party. The Commission has previously ordered that the ALJ hold an evidentiary hearing to determine the relationship between the charged company and its successor.
Commission rules provide for the Commission to set a deadline for the ALJ's initial decision at the time proceedings are instituted (120, 210, or 300 days). The Commission's Chief Administrative Law Judge has discretion to determine whether a motion for an extension of time may be filed.
The Commission announced that it intends to grant such motions only sparingly. It further stated that a heavy trial docket alone is not sufficient cause for an extension. Here the Chief ALJ's motion notes that the proceeding cannot be completed in the originally scheduled time because of the need for additional evidentiary hearings to resolve the issue surrounding the Division's attempt to drop a party. Given this "unexpected complexity" the Commission granted the motion and extended the deadline by 120 days.
Comment
One wonders how long the Commission labored over this routine motion. It should publish the date that the motion was submitted to it.
