(A) The board of tax appeals shall hereinafter be referred to as the "board." The office of the board shall be at Columbus, Ohio and shall be open every day for the transaction of business from eight a.m. to five p.m., Saturday, Sunday and legal holidays excepted. All notices of appeal, submissions, requests and other communications shall be delivered to the board at the "James A. Rhodes State Office Tower, 24th Floor, 30 East Broad Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215."

(B) The board shall be in continuous session and open for the transaction of business during the hours herein provided. The sessions of the board shall be open to the public. Sessions shall stand and be adjourned without further notice thereof on its records.

(C) All of the proceedings of the board shall be entered on its journal which shall be a public record and each member's vote shall be recorded on the journal as cast.

(D) The board shall, from time to time, elect a chairman and a vice-chairman from its membership and shall enter such election in its journal.

(A) In any proceeding before the board, a person who is a party to an appeal may appear and act on his or her own behalf. A person may appear and act on behalf of a partnership or association of which he or she is a member or on behalf of any corporation for which he or she is an officer if such partnership, association, or corporation is a party to the appeal.

(B) All parties not acting on their own behalf shall be represented by an attorney at law authorized to practice before the courts of the state of Ohio.

(C) Persons authorized to practice law in other jurisdictions may, upon proper application to the board, be authorized to practice before the board in a particular proceeding.

(A) Entries of appearance of counsel in any appeal shall be in writing. Such appearance may be effected by the signing of the notice of appeal or pleading or otherwise entered into the record after the scheduling of the appeal for hearing.

(B) Any party before the board of revision, who desires to participate in an appeal before the board of tax appeals as an appellee, shall enter an appearance with the board of tax appeals within thirty days of the mailing of notice of such appeal by the board of revision.

(C) Any change of address of a party or counsel of record must be in writing and must be clearly designated as a change of address.

(D) A request for withdrawal of counsel in any appeal shall be in writing and shall be filed no later than seven days subsequent to the board's issuance of the notice of hearing date and shall be effective upon filing. Thereafter, a request for withdrawal of counsel shall only be made upon motion and with leave of the board. A substitution of counsel or the party's written acknowledgement that the appeal shall proceed without counsel shall be filed within thirty days of the filing of the withdrawal request.

(A) An appeal shall be commenced with the filing of a signed original notice of appeal and two accurately conformed copies of the notice, within the time and manner prescribed by law.

(B) A caption in the following form should be substantially followed:

(C) A notice of appeal from a determination of the tax commissioner shall set forth the full name of the appellant and recite in clear and concise fashion the matter and amount in controversy and the action, or final determination appealed from, the errors complained of, and incorporate or attach a copy of the final order from which the appeal is taken. A copy of the notice of appeal filed with the board of tax appeals must also be filed with the tax commissioner within the time prescribed by law.

(D) An appeal taken from a decision of a county board of revision should be upon the form prescribed by the tax commissioner for such appeals. A copy of the notice of appeal filed with the board of tax appeals must also be filed with the county board of revision within the time prescribed by law.

(E) The notice of appeal should set forth the name, address, telephone number, and fax number, if available, of all parties together with the name, address, telephone number, fax number, and attorney registration number, if applicable, of appellant's authorized agent or attorney at law who executed such notice.

(F) Notices of appeal from a decision of a county board of revision, county budget commission, or the tax commissioner filed by certified or express mail, properly addressed and with sufficient postage prepaid, shall be deemed filed on the date of the united states postmark placed upon the sender's receipt by the postal employee. Notices of appeal filed by an authorized delivery service designated by the tax commissioner shall be deemed filed on the date placed on the sender's receipt by an employee of the authorized delivery service. An appeal filed by regular mail or other delivery method is effective upon receipt in the board office.

(A) Unless otherwise ordered by the board or an attorney examiner, a copy of all motions or pleadings, briefs, papers and other documents filed with the board subsequent to the notice of appeal shall be served upon the counsel of record or the parties, if not represented by counsel, at the time of filing.

(B) All motions or pleadings, briefs, papers and other documents shall contain a certificate of service indicating that the required service has been made, the manner in which service was made, and the names and addresses of the parties or counsel of record upon whom service was made.

(C) Service upon the counsel of record or a party shall be made by delivering or mailing a copy to counsel's or the party's last known address upon the board's records. Service by mail is complete upon mailing and effective upon the third day following mailing. Service may be made by fax transmission and will be deemed effective in accordance with rule 5717-1-22 of the Administrative Code.

(A) As used in this rule, "complex litigation" has one or more of the following characteristics:

(B) A party or counsel of record in complex litigation, as defined above, may, with the filing of the notice of appeal, serve and file a "notice of complex litigation" which briefly describes the nature of the appeal(s) and identifies by title and case number all other related appeals.

(C) Based upon a review of the notice and the statutory transcript of the subject appeal(s), the board may issue an order which will determine whether the subject appeal(s) shall be treated as complex litigation thereafter. An order under this subdivision may be altered and amended as the appeal(s) progresses through the board.

(D) Once the board has determined by order that an appeal(s) shall be treated as "complex litigation", the subject appeal(s) shall be diverted to and managed by the attorney examiner assigned to the appeal(s). Said examiner will take such action and enter such interim orders as the examiner deems appropriate for the expeditious resolution of the appeal(s), including waiver of an applicable board rule, when necessary.

(A) Within forty-five days of the filing of a notice of appeal, the tax commissioner shall certify to the board a transcript of the record of the proceedings before the commissioner, together with all evidence considered by the commissioner in connection therewith.

(B) Within forty-five days of the filing of a notice of appeal, the county board of revision shall certify to the board a transcript of the record of the proceedings of the county board of revision pertaining to the original complaint, together with all evidence offered in connection therewith.

(C) Within forty-five days of the filing of a notice of appeal, the county auditor, on behalf of the budget commission, shall certify to the board a transcript of the record of the proceedings of the budget commission pertaining to the action from which the appeal is taken, together with all evidence presented or considered by the commission.

(D) Upon written request, the board may grant additional time to certify the transcript to the board.

(A) The board may delegate to its attorney examiners, with respect to all appeals, the authority to issue interim procedural orders on all motions or other pleadings which do not terminate the appeals and may include, but not be limited to, motions to consolidate, to compel discovery, and for sanctions. Said orders have the same force and effect as any order issued by the board. A party may, by written motion, seek the reconsideration by the board of the interim order. A motion for reconsideration shall not be the basis for continuance of a matter scheduled for hearing.

(B) On motion of the parties or at the board's request, the parties to a hearing may be required to appear at a prehearing conference and provide prehearing statements for purposes of issue identification, scheduling of discovery, or other prehearing matters to be identified prior to such conference.

(A) Discovery may be permitted by deposition upon oral examination or written questions; written interrogatories; production of documents or tangible things or permission to enter upon land or other property; and requests for admissions. The "Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure" shall be followed for discovery purposes to the extent they are not inconsistent with other board rules, and subject to the following limitations:

(B) No hearing will be continued for purposes of discovery unless good cause is shown.

(C) Cost of discovery shall be paid by the party requesting such discovery.

(D) Upon the motion of a party and for good cause shown, the board may issue a protective order restricting discovery of a trade secret or other confidential research, development or commercial information.

(A) Unless made at a hearing or otherwise ordered, any request to the board shall be by written motion and shall be accompanied by a brief stating with particularity the grounds for the motion and citations of any authorities relied upon. Except for good cause shown, motions shall be filed within a reasonable period of time following filing of the notice of appeal so as to permit the board to consider and respond thereto in the orderly course of the board's business.

(B) Any party may file a brief contra within fourteen days after service of the motion, or such other period as the board or the attorney examiner requires.

(C) Any party may file a reply brief within seven days of service of a brief contra or such other period as the board or the attorney examiner requires.

(D) Motions for reconsideration of any decision of the board may be filed with the board only by a party or counsel of record in the proceedings before the board within thirty days of the date on which the decision was journalized. The filing of a motion for reconsideration shall not enlarge the period of time upon which an appeal may be taken from this board nor shall the filing of such motion suspend or toll the statutory appeal period. No motion for reconsideration will be determined by this board after an appeal to any court has been perfected.

(A) Upon written request of any party or by action of the board through a member, the secretary or its attorney examiners, subpoenas may be issued to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of books, accounts, papers, records, documents, and testimony. If any party desires the issuance of subpoenas in order to compel the attendance of witnesses or the production of documents at a scheduled merit or motion hearing or deposition, the request shall be filed with the board at least fifteen days prior to such scheduled date.

(B) The board shall supply blank subpoena forms to the requesting party so that the party may complete the form and effect the service of the subpoenas.

(C) Subpoenas shall be served by the party or other individual over the age of eighteen years, personally or by certified mail, return receipt requested.

(D) The party or other person serving the subpoena shall file a copy of the subpoena, properly endorsed as to service with the board, at or prior to the time of the hearing for which the subpoena was issued.

(E) Witnesses shall receive their subpoenas at least ten days prior to the hearing at which they are to appear.

(F) All subpoenas issued by this board are deemed continuing, should the hearing or deposition for which they have been issued proceed for multiple days or be continued to a later date. The party issuing a subpoena shall notify any subpoenaed witness(es) of any continuance of the board proceedings at which they were scheduled to appear.

(A) Failure to comply with the rules contained in agency designation 5717 of the Ohio Administrative Code or an order of the board may result in any of the following sanctions:

(B) The board may impose sanctions to enforce compliance with this chapter and orders as the board deems just and appropriate after the opportunity for hearing. The repetitious nature of the disobedient party or advising attorney will be considered in determining the appropriate sanctions to be imposed.

(A) The board's secretary or the designated assignment commissioner may schedule each appeal for hearing and written notice thereof shall be given to the parties or their counsel of record by ordinary mail. For good cause shown, hearings may be continued by the attorney examiner to whom the appeal has been assigned, by a board member or the board's secretary. Requests for continuances should be directed to the attorney examiner assigned the case and filed, in writing, at least fourteen days prior to the scheduled hearing date.

(B) The right to a hearing may be waived, in writing, with the consent of all parties and the board. If waived, the board may proceed to decide the case upon the record.

(C) All hearings shall proceed in similar manner to a civil action, with witnesses to be sworn and subject to cross examination.

(D) All hearings before the board shall be open to the public. Hearings may be recorded by stenographic means or by audio or video recording systems, as ordered by the board. An audio or video recording of a hearing will not be transcribed into written form unless found necessary by the board. A stenographic transcript or an audio or video recording shall be made available for examination at the board's office. Any duplication of a transcript or recording shall be at the requesting party's expense.

(E) Each party should identify its witnesses and provide copies of the documentary exhibits it plans to offer into evidence (reduced in size, if necessary), to all parties and the attorney examiner, at least seven days prior to the hearing, unless otherwise ordered by the attorney examiner.

(A) At any time prior to the issuance of a final decision and order in an appeal, a board member or attorney examiner may request briefs from the parties. A party may also file a brief without being so requested. Briefs shall be filed within the time limits set by the board member or attorney examiner. An extension of time within which a brief is to be filed, may be requested, in writing, from the attorney examiner assigned to the case. If any party fails to submit a brief within the established time limit, the board may proceed to determine the appeal and exclude the brief from its consideration. After the deadline for submission of briefs has passed, a party may file, as additional authority, relevant cases subsequently decided, but without further argument.

(B) Two complete and accurately conformed copies of each brief shall be filed with the signed original. Copies of any unreported decisions cited therein shall be attached thereto.

(C) Briefs amicus curiae may be filed with leave of the board and shall be filed according to the briefing deadlines established by the board.

(A) The appellant may voluntarily dismiss an appeal by filing a notice of dismissal at any time before the commencement of the hearing. After commencement of the hearing, a dismissal may be granted with the consent of all of the parties and the approval of the board. The dismissal of an appeal is with prejudice. The board shall journalize an order giving effect to the notice of dismissal.

(B) All voluntary dismissals, joint remands, and stipulations of value must be filed within thirty days of the date on which this board was notified of their existence. Failure to file within thirty days may result in the return of the subject appeal to the hearing schedule on an expedited basis.

(A) Upon request, the board will provide copies of documents in its records, for a reasonable fee.

(B) A copy of any hearing transcript may be obtained from the stenographer contracted by the board, at a fee to be designated by such stenographer.

(A) Any appeal to the board may be resolved by mediation among the parties. Requests for diversion of any appeal to mediation may be made by any party to the board within ninety days of the filing of the notice of appeal. The board or the attorney examiner assigned the appeal may also recommend that an appeal be diverted to mediation. The diversion of an appeal to mediation will not alter the obligations established by these rules for the orderly disposition of an appeal, except for good cause, as determined by the board or its attorney examiners.

(B) The board's secretary or the designated assignment commissioner may schedule each appeal for a mediation conference and written notice thereof shall be given to the parties or their counsel of record of the mediation conference by ordinary mail.

(C) All parties or their counsel scheduled to appear at a mediation conference must secure authority to respond to settlement proposals offered at a mediation conference prior to such conference. All parties shall be prepared to discuss their positions and to explore any possibility of settlement of an appeal at the conference.

(D) At the conclusion of the mediation conference, the board, upon recommendation of the attorney mediator, may enter an order setting forth the action taken or agreement reached at the mediation conference, which, with the parties' consent, shall govern the subsequent course of the proceedings. Any appeal(s) that cannot be resolved through the mediation process will be scheduled for a merit hearing with an attorney examiner who did not participate in the mediation process.

(E) The attorney mediator shall keep confidential all statements made and information provided by a party at a mediation conference. However, such statements and information may be disclosed upon consent of such party. No stenographic record of mediation conferences shall be taken or maintained.

(F) Statements made and information provided in the course of a mediation conference are not admissible at a subsequent hearing. This rule does not require the exclusion of any evidence otherwise discoverable merely because it is presented in the course of mediation.