1998 SCCA Club Racing Rule Changes -- Addendum -- Appeals (Chapter 21)
21. APPEALS
21.1 RIGHT TO APPEAL
Any person, entrant, or organization named as a party to a protest or Chief
Steward's Request for Action, shall have the right to appeal any decision or
penalty imposed by the Stewards of the Meet (SOM). In addition, the Chief
Steward of the event shall have the right to appeal any decision or penalty
imposed.
21.2 JURISDICTION
The Chairman of the Board of Directors, SCCA, Inc., will appoint a three (3)
member Court of Appeals each year to review and render a final decision on
any appeal filed under this section. It is the intent of these provisions to
provide for resolution of differences before a Court composed of individuals
with individual and collective expertise in racing matters.
21.3 JURISDICTION OF THE FIA
A right to appeal to the FIA shall be recognized only if the dispute in
question arises from competition listed on the FIA calendar, and if the
appeal is brought before the ACCUS.
21.3.1. INTERNATIONAL EVENTS
ACCUS has delegated to SCCA the authority to establish Courts of Appeal to
settle disputes arising from International events sanctioned by SCCA.
21.3.2. FULL INTERNATIONAL EVENTS
ACCUS will establish Courts of Appeal to settle disputes arising from Full
International Events.
21.4. APPEALING AN ADVERSE RULING
An appeal permitted under the GCR shall be started by filing a written
notice of appeal with the SCCA, Inc., at its headquarters, or as provided in
section 21.4.3. The notice of appeal shall specify the party making the
appeal, shall state the decision or portion thereof appealed, shall explain
the reason or reasons why the appeal should be decided in their favor, shall
include all information the appellant wishes the Court to consider, and as
applicable, which part(s) of the GCR, Category Specifications and/or
Supplemental Regulations of an event, are considered to have been enforced
in a manner that was not fair or equitable to the appellant. The Notice of
Appeal shall be U.S. Government postmarked or registered with a carrier
service (i.e., UPS, Federal Express, etc.) within ten (10) days after the
announcement of the decision being appealed has been given to the appellant
and shall include the appropriate appeal fee of $125.00, payable to SCCA,
Inc. A minimum of $50.00 of the appeal fee will be retained by the SCCA on
all appeals that are filed, unless otherwise determined by the Court of
Appeals. An appeal properly started may be withdrawn, without penalty, by
written notice to the SCCA, Inc., prior to start of the review of the appeal
by the National Court of Appeals. Review of the appeal shall have started
when members of the Court have physically received copies of the appeal and
begin review at a regular session of the Court.
21.4.1. FINES, LICENSES, FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS
Fines imposed by the SOM, Chief Steward and/or suspended licenses shall be
received by SCCA, Inc., before an appeal will be heard. When a Letter of
Probation is issued, the competition license also must be surrendered to the
SOM or Chief Steward, and then forwarded to SCCA, Inc. Any appeal received
by SCCA, Inc., will not be heard until said license is received by SCCA,
Inc. Any other financial obligation owed SCCA, Inc., or any of its
chartered Regions, and duly reported to be in arrears to SCCA, Inc., shall
be received by SCCA, Inc., before an appeal will be heard.
21.4.2. STAY OF DECISION
An appeal filed on a penalty rendered by the SOM or other Court involving
either a suspension of competition privileges or expulsion from the SCCA,
will permit the appellant to enter and compete in subsequent races until the
appellant's appeal has been decided and a decision announced by the Court
of Appeals. The results and awards from these races shall be considered
Provisional until the Court's ruling upholds or overturns the suspension or
expulsion, at which time the Provisional Results and awards will be
considered Final and Official. If the Court of Appeals ruling upholds the
suspension or expulsion, the awards won by an appellant in races while
awaiting the Court of Appeals ruling will be considered null and void. Race
results for those events will be revised to entirely remove the appellant's
name, and other information, from the Final and Official Results.
21.4.3. DUAL SANCTION WEEKENDS
On a dual event weekend, (i.e., where more than one sanction number has been
issued by Club Racing; Double Regional, National, Regional/National, or any
other combination permitted), a party who has had their competition
privileges suspended (per GCR 20.1.0.) may, by filing a Notice of Intent to
Appeal together with the appeal fee with the Chairman of the Stewards of the
Meet (SOM), be allowed to compete in the other event that weekend that is
being conducted under a different sanction number than the one where the
party was suspended. The notice of appeal shall be filed within ten days of
the date the decision of the SOM was given to the appellant. THIS APPEAL
CANNOT BE WITHDRAWN. The party may compete in subsequent events until the
Court of Appeals renders its ruling. On a single event weekend, if a
competitor's competition privileges are suspended by the SOM, that
competitor is prohibited from further competition activities during that
event from the time the decision is rendered. A notice of an Intent to
Appeal at a single sanctioned event may not be accepted by the SOM for any
reason at any time.
21.4.4. WELL FOUNDED APPEALS
For an appeal to be considered well founded, it shall be based on sound
evidence. Reasonable people may differ on the interpretation of the
evidence. An appeal may be determined to be well founded even if the
decision of the first Court remains unchanged by the Court of Appeals.
21.5. HEARING APPEALS
All properly filed appeals (per GCR 21.4.) shall be heard by the Court. The
Court will review the SCCA Official Observer's Report, the Notice of Appeal,
containing all the evidence the appellant wishes the Court to consider; and
will make any other inquiries it feels warranted, before making its
decision. It may, at its discretion, require the appellant to submit any
additional evidence it deems necessary for an equitable decision; hear
directly evidence from any person deemed to have pertinent information or
necessary data prior to making a decision; permit other parties to the
decision under appeal to make written comments on the appellant's Notice of
Appeal; and/or seek information from any source it desires. The Court of
Appeals shall make every effort to make its final decision and render a
decision on the appeal, within (30) days of its receipt of the Notice of
Appeal.
No member of the Court shall have taken part as a competitor or Official in
the event in which the Court will render a decision, or shall have been
directly or indirectly interested or involved in the matters under
consideration. The Court shall determine the procedure for hearing an
appeal which procedure shall not be subject to appeal.
21.6. JUDGMENT OF THE COURT OF APPEALS
After considering all material it deems relevant, the Court of Appeals shall
meet privately, reach its decision, and prepare a written opinion. It may
decide that the penalty or other action of the SOMs or other body appealed
from should be nullified, mitigated, affirmed, increased, or a different
penalty imposed, but it shall not order a competition to be re-run. The
Court of Appeals may order a rehearing by the original SOM committee at the
Court's discretion. Penalties imposed by the Court of Appeals shall incur
automatic penalty points outlined in 20.14.1. The Court may order the
return or forfeiture of appeal fees or of stay bonds. The Court shall
direct the disposition of protest fees and teardown bonds, if any, in those
cases where the original Court's decision is nullified or otherwise changed.
The Court's decision shall be final, binding and not subject to further
appeals by any other party, either within the SCCA organization or outside
the Club.
21.7. PUBLICATION AND EFFECT OF DECISION
SCCA, Inc. will distribute a copy of the final decision of the Court to all
parties of the appeal as soon as possible after the decision becomes final
and will use its best efforts to publish said final decisions as soon as
possible after finalization. Persons, entrants, or organizations referred
to in each said decision shall have no right of action against SCCA, Inc.,
or any person publishing such notice, and said decision shall be final and
binding. Any penalty of the Court shall be effective immediately or as
stated in its decision. Penalties involving time, disqualification,
suspension, or loss of points shall be made effective from the date of the
conclusion of the event involved.
21.8. BAD FAITH APPEALS
If the Court determines that the appellant has acted in bad faith or in a
vexatious manner, it may deem such conduct a breach of the GCR and impose
any penalty listed in section 20., for said breach.
21.9. APPEALS AFFECTING FINAL POINTS STANDINGS
Notice of appeals affecting the National Championship points standings
within a Division, including all evidence pertaining to the appeal, shall be
U.S. Government Postmarked or registered with a national carrier service
(i.e., UPS, Federal Express, etc), by the National Runoffs Entry deadline
regardless of the time allowed by these rules to file the notice of appeal
(Overnight mail or Fax is recommended). Runoff invitations to all parties
named in or affected by the appeal will be held until the appeal has been
finalized. An Intent to Appeal will not be accepted.