Originally Posted by
JohnBurke
I'm very confused.
The process you've described does not reflect the FAA enforcement process. It begins with a letter of investigation. Did you omit everything leading up to the notice of proposed certificate action?
If you've retained counsel, then why are you coming on a site such as this to seek unsubstantiated, possibly unqualified legal advice? Does your attorney not know?
The FSDO doesn't handle this. Once the process has begun, it's moved to the regional legal counsel.
The argument that you refused response until the FAA provided justification sounds fanciful, but if that's what your legal counsel elected to do, so be it.
The investigating FSDO is often wrong about the regulation, but that's handled through the appeal process. The FSDO has never had the authority to interpret regulation. The FSDO initiates the enforcement process.
The stale complaint rule was initiated by the NTSB, and requires that the FAA notify an airman of a proposed certificate action within 6 months of initial discovery of the alleged violation. You described a notice of proposed certificate action received five months after the alleged violation, placing it within that time frame. Once that's contested, however, the 6 month time frame no longer applies.
As you've retained legal counsel, this is something that you really need to discuss with your attorney.
Not sure what you mean that it doesn't sound like their process.
1) Received LOI in June
2) Received Enforcement letter in October.
3) Had Informal Conference in February
Did we miss something here??
As for refusing response, last I checked we are in the USA and the FAA has no right to charge you with anything without justification. In fact that is why the Equal Access to Justice act was enacted so that when you prove to the government they are acting without justification before they take enforcement action they must compensate you.