(1) A data requestor may appeal the denial of its administrative review conducted in accordance with WAC 182-70-290.

(2) Request for an appeal must be submitted in writing to the authority within fifteen calendar days after receipt of written notification of denial of its administrative review, with a copy provided to the lead organization.

(3) The lead organization must provide notice and a copy of the appeal request to affected data suppliers within five days of being served. Data suppliers may seek to intervene in an appeal by submitting a petition to intervene to the office of administrative hearings, and serving the petition to intervene on the authority, lead organization and requestor within five days of being notified of the appeal.

(4) Within ten business days of receipt of a written notice of appeal, the authority will transmit the request to the office of administrative hearings (OAH).

(a) Scheduling. OAH will assign an administrative law judge (ALJ) to handle the appeal. The ALJ will notify parties of the time when any additional documents or arguments must be submitted. If a party fails to comply with a scheduling letter or established timelines, the ALJ may decline to consider arguments or documents submitted after the scheduled timelines. A status conference in complex cases may be scheduled to provide for the orderly resolution of the case and to narrow issues and arguments for hearing.

(b) Hearings. Hearings may be by telephone or in-person. The ALJ may decide the case without a hearing if legal or factual issues are not in dispute, the appellant does not request a hearing, or the appellant fails to appear at a scheduled hearing or otherwise fails to respond to inquiries. The ALJ will notify the appellant by mail whether a hearing will be held, whether the hearing will be in-person or by telephone, the location of any in-person hearing, and the date and time for any hearing in the case. The date and time for a hearing may be continued at the ALJ's discretion. Other authority employees may attend a hearing, and the ALJ will notify the appellant when other authority employees are attending. The appellant may appear in person or may be represented by an attorney.

(c) Decisions. The decision of the ALJ shall be considered a final decision. A petition for review of the final decision may be filed in the superior court. If no appeal is filed within the time period set by RCW 34.05.542, the decision is conclusive and binding on all parties. The appeal must be filed within thirty days from service of the final decision.