1. (a) If, upon being advised of the complaint by the office, the respondent believes that more than 20 days is required to provide a response to the allegations contained in the complaint, the respondent shall forthwith file a motion with the office, copied to the claimant, requesting an extension of time for the submission of a response.

2. (b) The ombudsman shall grant the motion for extension of response date if the ombudsman concludes that:

   1. (1) The motion is not submitted solely for the purpose of delay; and

   2. (2) It appears from the written pleadings that:

      1. a. If the motion were not granted, the entry of a conditional default would be likely;
      2. b. Granting the extension is likely to assist in reaching a fair and just resolution of the case; or
      3. c. The extension would afford the parties a reasonable opportunity to explore the possibility of an informal resolution of the case.
3. (c) If a hearing is requested in regard to a motion to extend the response date, that request shall be clearly stated in the motion or objection.
4. (d) Motions for extension of the response date shall be submitted at least 10 days prior to the date upon which the response would otherwise be due.
5. (e) Objections to motions to extend response dates shall be in conformity with Rko 208.01.
6. (f) A hearing shall not be held on a motion to extend a response date unless the ombudsman concludes that a hearing would be beneficial to the ombudsman’s understanding of issues involved in the motion or objection.

Source. #13921, eff 5-20-24