Defeating a Bureau of Automotive Repair Petition for Interim Suspension Order
Updated: February 15, 2016
(We’re hearing reports of ISO’s being issued for the new DAD/OIS system with allegations of clean plugging.)
We blogged in 2012 about an “epidemic” of sorts running throughout the licensing process dealing with Bureau of Automotive Repair Licensing. Well, here it is Spring, 2016, and – guess what – we are hearing reports of this problem, again. We’ve updated our blog on the topic (please read below).
To know one’s surprise, the Bureau of Automotive Repair is playing dirty. This isn’t the first time we’ve shown the Bureau is full of it.
A Provision in the Government Code
The Bureau has recently discovered and started utilizing a provision in the Government Code for the immediate suspension of any license issued by the Bureau of Automotive Repair.
This is a two step process, the first of which is proving beyond the preponderance of evidence violations occurred and second, that the facility or technician, if allowed to continue the performance under said license, is a threat to the public.
Defeating this type of action is not easy – you have Bureau Representatives swearing under penalty of perjury that either you or your facility is the worst facility/technician on this planet, who intentionally committed fraudulent misrepresentations to the people of the State of California, and will continue to do so, subjecting the people to dangerous and noxious gases or unsafe vehicles, because you and or your facility are the most deviant members of the automotive repair community.
Then you will have an Attorney General arguing this in front of an Administrative Law Judge, certifying by way of expansive legal documentation, that yes, in fact, you are a menace to society and your license should be taken away. Sometimes over a work order. Sometimes over a consumer complaint.
These allegations need to be defeated.
Introduction of Witnesses
There are very particular legal requirements for the introduction of evidence in an interim suspension order hearing. No witnesses are called. You are not entitled to cross examine Bureau witnesses, nor is any statements you might make under the record considered evidence. There are very specific manners with which to introduce evidence and defeat the Bureau’s arguments.
You see the Bureau knows most shops and technicians will not be able to introduce the proper mitigating evidence in an ISO hearing, it’s very technical.
That’s where we come in.
It goes a little something like this:
Here is a recently filed ISO (Petition for Interim Suspension) with the Office of Administrative Hearings in Sacramento, CA.
Here are the Points and Authorities filed by the Bureau’s attorney, the Deputy Attorney General who represents the Bureau in these matters.
As you can see after reading these documents filed by the Bureau, the gloves have come off. This isn’t some minor mistakes were made, the Bureau was just wanting to make sure procedures were followed, a desire to conduct training, etc. This is the Bureau calling the shop and technicians the scum of the earth. There were over 100 pages of pictures, photographs, declarations, statements, and other procedures and manuals purporting to be as such.
Finally, you’ll have the decision, after extensive investigation, filing of legal documents and exhibits, all permissible evidence in these ISO hearings.
As you can see from the decision, the Administrative Law Judge speaks for our presentation of a defense. We won. Plain and Simple. We were able to dismantle the Bureau’s case and show this facility and these technicians should still be in business.
They are to this day.
That’s what we do here – we save the shop and technician’s licenses – it’s why we do what we do.
-William Ferreira