| (a) Pleadings filed in contested case proceedings before
the Commission shall be designated as one of the following: application,
petition, complaint, notice of protest, answer, motion, exception,
or response or reply to one of the preceding pleadings. If there is
an error in the designation of a pleading, the examiner or the Hearings
Director may determine the appropriate status in the proceeding and
treat it accordingly.
(b) Requests for discovery and responses thereto shall
not be classified as pleadings and shall become a part of the administrative
record in a contested case only when offered as evidence, or when
part of a request for an order compelling a discovery response, or
a reply thereto.
(c) Pleadings shall be liberally construed. As applicable,
the Commission, Hearings Director, or examiner may construe a document
as a pleading if the intent of the filing or document is evident.
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