Sec. 73.3568  Dismissal of applications.

    (a) Subject to the provisions of Sec. 73.3523 (Dismissal of 
applications in renewal proceedings) and Sec. 73.3525 (Agreements for 
removing application conflicts), any application may, upon request of 
the applicant be dismissed without prejudice as a matter of right prior 
to the designation of such application for hearing. An applicant's 
request for the return of an application that has been accepted for 
filing will be regarded as a request for dismissal.

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    (b) Failure to prosecute an application, or failure to respond to 
official correspondence or request for additional information, will be 
cause for dismissal. Subject to the provisions of Sec. 73.3525, such 
dismissal will be without prejudice where an application has not yet 
been designated for hearing, but may be made with prejudice after 
designation for hearing.
    (c) Subject to the provisions of Sec. 73.3523 (Dismissal of 
applications in renewal proceedings) and Sec. 73.3525 (Agreements for 
removing application conflicts), requests to dismiss an application 
without prejudice after it has been designated for hearing will be 
considered only upon written petition properly served upon all parties 
of record. Such requests shall be granted only upon a showing that the 
request is based on circumstances wholly beyond the applicant's control 
which preclude further prosecution of his application.

[ 44 FR 38499 , July 2, 1979, as amended at  54 FR 22599 , May 25, 1989]