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If you need the complete document, download the WordPerfect version or Adobe Acrobat version, if available. ***************************************************************** Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C. 20554 In the Matter of ) ) Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture of ) ) CAMIE SAVILLE ) ) File No. 920EF0014 Licensee of Paging and Radiotelephone ) Station KNLQ339, Roscommon, Michigan ) NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE Adopted: December 11, 1998 Released: December 14, 1998 By the Chief, Enforcement and Consumer Information Division, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau: I. Introduction 1. This is a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture, pursuant to Section 503(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (the Act), and Section 1.80 of the Commission's Rules, against Camie Saville, licensee of Paging and Radiotelephone Station KNLQ339, in Roscommon, Michigan. For the reasons that follow, we find that Mr. Saville failed to timely notify the Commission of the commencement of service for Station KNLQ339, in apparent violation of Section 22.142 of the Commission's Rules. We deny Mr. Saville's request for waiver of Section 22.142(b) of the Rules. Finally, we conclude that Mr. Saville is apparently liable for a forfeiture in the amount of one thousand dollars ($1,000). II. Background 2. On May 8, 1996, the Commission authorized Mr. Saville to construct Station KNLQ339 in Roscommon, Michigan, to operate on frequency 931.1375 MHz. On December 18, 1997, Mr. Saville filed a notifcation on FCC Form 489 whereby he informed the Commission that he had completed construction of Station KNLQ339 and commenced service on May 8, 1997. 3. Section 22.142(b) of the Commission's Rules provides in pertinent part: "Notification Requirement. Licensees must notify the FCC (FCC Form 489) of commencement of service to subscribers, no later than fifteen days after service begins." The Commission's policy of imposing monetary forfeitures for willful and/or violation of Section 22.142(b) of the Commission's Rules is well established. III. Discussion 4. Mr. Saville completed construction of Station KNDQ339 and began service on May 7, 1997. Pursuant to Section 22.142(b), Mr. Saville was required to notify the Commission that he had completed construction and commeced service by filing an FCC Form 489 within 15 days of commencement of service. Mr. Saville, however, did not file his Form 489 so notifying the Commission until December 18, 1997, several months later. Because Mr. Saville failed to timely file an FCC Form 489, he appears to have violated Section 22.142(b) of the Commission's Rules. 5. Mr. Saville requested a waiver of Section 22.142(b) of the Commission's Rules. In support of his waiver request, Mr. Saville states that the reason for the late filing was inadvertence. According to Section 22.119(a) of the Commission's Rules, the Commission may grant such a waiver if: (1) The underlying purpose of the rule(s) would not be served or would be frustrated by application to the instant case, and that a grant of the requested waiver would be in the public interest; or (2) In view of unique or unusual factual circumstances of the instant case, application of the rule(s) would be inequitable, unduly burdensome or contrary to the public interest, or that the applicant has no reasonable alternative. Mr. Saville has not met his burden. Mr. Saville's argument that he filed the Form 489 late because of his inadvertent oversight does not meet any of the requirements noted above. As a Commission licensee, Mr. Saville has an affirmative obligation to be informed of and comply with the Commission's Rules. The purpose of the Form 489 is to notify the Commission that construction has been completed, and the frequency is in use, so that the Commission will not assign that frequency to anyone else. FCC Form 489, therefore, has an important function. 6. The guidelines contained in the Commission's Forfeiture Policy Statement, which became effective on October 14, 1997, specify a base forfeiture amount of $3,000 for failure to file required forms or information. The guidelines, however, permit the Commission "to issue a higher or lower forfeiture than provided in the guidelines." The Commission determined, in cases decided before the adoption of the Forfeiture Policy Statement, that a base forfeiture amount of $2,000 is justified when a licensee has failed to timely file Form 489. We find, therefore, that a $2,000 base amount for the violation is appropriate here. Section 503 of the Act requires the Commission to consider "the nature, the degree of culpability, any history of prior offenses, ability to pay, and other such factors as justice may require." In this case, taking into consideration all of the factors requires by Section 503(b)(2)(D) of the Act, including, but not limited to, Mr. Saville's voluntary disclosure of his violations to the Commission, we believe it is appropriate to reduce the amount of Mr. Saville's proposed forfeiture to $1,000. IV. Conclusion and Ordering Clauses 7. ACCORDINGLY, pursuant to Section 503(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and Section 1.80 of the Commission's Rules, Camie Saville is hereby NOTIFIED of his APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE in the amount of one thousand dollars for repeated violations of Section 22.142(b) of the Commission's Rules, and his request for waiver of Section 22.142(b) of the Commission's Rules is hereby DENIED. 8. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, pursuant to Section 1.80 of the Commission's Rules, that within thirty days of the release of this Notice, Camie Saville SHALL PAY the full amount of the proposed forfeiture or SHALL FILE a written statement seeking reduction or cancellation of the proposed forfeiture. 9. Payment of the forfeiture may be made by credit card through the Commission's Billings and Collections Branch at (202) 418-1995 or by mailing a check or similar instrument, payable to the order of the Federal Communications Commission, to the Federal Communications Commission, P.O. Box 73482, Chicago, Illinois 60673-7482. The payment should note the file number of this proceeding. 10. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that copies of this Notice shall be sent, by Certified Mail/ Return Receipt Requested, to Mr. Saville's counsel, Joyce & Jacobs, Attorneys at Law, LLP, at 1019 19th Street, N.W., 14th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20036. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Catherine W. Seidel Chief, Enforcement and Consumer Information Division Wireless Telecommunications Bureau