(a) A member or successor in interest aggrieved by any action or decision of Fidelity Corporation may file a written request for a hearing with the commissioner within 30 days from the action or decision. (b) (1) Except as provided in subdivision (c), the hearing shall be conducted by an administrative law judge on the staff of the Office of Administrative Hearings and the administrative law judgeâs proposed decision shall be made within 120 days from the date of the request for hearing. This time limit does not constitute a jurisdictional deadline and may be extended by stipulation of the parties or by order of the administrative law judge for good cause. (2) The hearing shall be conducted in accordance with the administrative adjudication provisions of Chapters 4.5 (commencing with Section 11400) and Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, except as specified in this subdivision. (3) The following sections of the Government Code shall not apply to a hearing under this subdivision: Section 11503 (relating to accusations), Section 11504 (relating to statements of issues), Section 11505 (relating to contents of the statement to respondent), Section 11506 (relating to the notice of defense), Section 11507 (relating to amended or supplemental accusations), and Section 11516 (relating to amendment of accusations after submission of case). (4) The sole parties to the hearing shall be the member or successor in interest (complainant) and Fidelity Corporation (respondent). Third-party intervention shall not be permitted. The disputes, claims, and interests of third parties shall not be within the jurisdiction of the proceedings. However, nothing in this paragraph prohibits any interested party from submitting an amicus brief upon approval by the administrative law judge, after a duly noticed motion demonstrating good cause. (5) Within 10 days of receipt of the request for a hearing, the commissioner shall schedule the hearing with the Office of Administrative Hearings and shall serve each party by personal service or mail with notice of the hearing, which is to include the date, time, and place of the hearing. (A) Within 10 days of service of the notice of hearing, the complainant shall file with the Office of Administrative Hearings, and serve upon the respondent by personal service or mail, a written statement setting forth the matters to be considered at the hearing in sufficient detail to permit the respondent to prepare and present its response. The statement shall contain the following: (i) A brief statement of the facts that give rise to the hearing. (ii) A statement of the issues to be considered at the hearing including relevant statutes and rules. If the statement includes issues not raised in the proof of loss claim or considered by respondent in its decision, respondent may move for abatement of the proceedings for consideration of those issues by respondent. The administrative law judge may abate the proceedings for a period not to exceed 60 days from the issuance of the order to abate. The administrative law judge may extend the time period for good cause upon motion by respondent or by stipulation of the parties. If respondent has not issued a revised decision within the period of abatement, the administrative law judge shall reset the matter for hearing. (B) Within 20 days of service of the statement, respondent may file with the Office of Administrative Hearings, and serve upon the complainant by personal service or mail a written response to the statement. (C) The statement of issues and response may be amended upon completion of discovery, except that notice of the amendment shall be no later than 30 days before the date set for hearing. (6) Where the statement of issues includes a claim for a loss of trust obligations that has been denied by respondent, complainant shall bear the burden of establishing by a preponderance of the evidence that a loss as
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