Caldwell Coatings, LLC

Plain-English summary

OSHA issued Caldwell Coatings separate sets of citations in two cases that were later consolidated. The parties' settlement withdrew the citations in Docket 15-1216 but accidentally omitted all citations in Docket 15-1217, and the judge's approval order became final without resolving the consolidated proceeding. The parties later withdrew the remaining citations and asked to correct the agreement. The Commission treated the omission as a clerical oversight under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(a), set aside the final order, and remanded the cases for the judge to consider the correction motion.

Decision snapshot

• Cited standard(s): None specified in the decision.
• Outcome: The final settlement order was set aside and the consolidated cases were remanded.
• Key point: A settlement in consolidated cases must resolve or expressly address every citation in each docket.

Full text (OSHRC public release)

CALDWELL COATINGS, LLC, OSHRC DOCKET NO's 15-1216 & 15-1217

2017-01-17
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2018-08-06

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EN-US
X-NONE
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United States of America

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH REVIEW
COMMISSION

���� 1120 20 th � Street, N.W., Ninth Floor Washington, DC 20036-3457

SECRETARY OF LABOR,

������������������������
Complainant,

������������������
v.

OSHRC Docket Nos. 15-1216

���������������������������������� 15-1217

CALDWELL COATINGS, LLC,

(CONSOLIDATED)

������������������������
Respondent.

APPEARANCES:

Josh
Bernstein, Trial Attorney; Madeleine T. Le, Counsel for Occupational Safety and
Health; James E. Culp, Regional Solicitor; M. Patricia Smith, Solicitor of
Labor; U.S. Department of Labor, Washington, DC

For the Complainant

Carl
Carruth; McNair Law Firm, P.A., Columbia, SC For the
Respondent

DIRECTION
FOR REVIEW AND REMAND ORDER

Before:
ATTWOOD, Chairman; and M AC DOUGALL, Commissioner. BY THE COMMISSION:

An order issued by Administrative Law Judge Patrick
B. Augustine approving a settlement
agreement between Caldwell Coatings, LLC and the Secretary became a final order
of the Commission on October 28, 2016. For the reasons that
follow, we set aside the final order under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure
60(a), direct review of the case, and remand it to the judge for further proceedings.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued
Caldwell Coatings two sets of citations: one set issued under OSHA inspection number 1056257 (Docket
Number 15-1216), and the
other issued under OSHA inspection number 1056287 (Docket
Number 15-1217). These cases
were later consolidated. See 29 C.F.R
� 2200.9 (consolidation). The settlement agreement, submitted by the parties
to the judge for approval
on August 26, 2016, withdrew
the citations under

Docket Number 15-1216, but it failed to address the citations under
Docket Number 15-1217. Because the agreement did not fully resolve one of the
consolidated cases, the judge�s order approving the settlement agreement did
not constitute a �final disposition of the proceedings� under Commission Rule
90(a), 29 C.F.R. � 2200.90(a). Nonetheless, the order was submitted for
docketing and subsequently docketed on September 28, 2016, thereby commencing
the thirty-day period before �[t]he
report of the administrative law judge . . . become[s] the final order of the
Commission.� 29 U.S.C.
� 661(j); see also 29 C.F.R.
� 2200.90(b)(2) (docketing of judge�s report by Executive Secretary). Because
no Commissioner directed
the case for review, the order became final on October 28, 2016.

On December 5, 2016, the parties filed with the Commission a Joint Notice
of Withdrawal of Citation and
Complaint regarding Docket Number 15-1217. About a week later, the Secretary
filed an unopposed Motion to Correct Settlement Agreement to include
these withdrawn citations. Although the motion fails to
cite any legal authority as the basis for correcting the settlement agreement,
we find it appropriate to grant relief from the final order under Federal Rule
of Civil Procedure 60(a), which permits the Commission �on its own� to �correct
a clerical mistake or a mistake arising from oversight or omission whenever one
is found in a judgment, order, or other part of the record.� See Robert Lewis Rosen Assoc., Ltd. v. Webb ,
473 F.3d 498, 505 & n.12 (2d Cir. 2007) (judgment corrected pursuant to
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(a) �[b] ecause the
plain language of the rule indicate[d] that a judge may correct
a judgment thereunder sua sponte ,�
allowing district court to award additional sums contemplated, but not
specifically mentioned, in arbitrator�s award that court previously confirmed
in full). Here, the mistake arose from the judge�s �oversight� in submitting
his order for docketing even though the approved settlement agreement did not resolve
all the citations at issue. See Sterling Techs.,
Inc. , 25 BNA OSHC 1891, 1892 (No. 15-1772, 2016) (setting
aside final order under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(a) because the
judge�s order approving the informal settlement agreement did not fully resolve
the case).

We thus set aside the final order under Federal Rule of
Civil Procedure 60(a) and remand the case to the judge to consider
the Secretary�s unopposed
motion to correct
the parties� settlement agreement.

SO
ORDERED.

/s/ ��������������������������������������������������������������������

Cynthia L.
Attwood

Chairman

/s/ ��������������������������������������������������������������������

Heather L. MacDougall

Dated: January 12, 2017 �������������������������������������������� Commissioner

United States of America

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH REVIEW COMMISSION

U.S. C USTOM H OUSE 721 19 TH S TREET ,
R OOM 407

D ENVER , C OLORADO 80202-2517

Fax: (303) 844-3759

SECRETARY OF LABOR,

Complainant,

v.

OSHRC Docket Nos.: 15-1216

15-1217 (CONSOLIDATED)

CALDWELL COATINGS, LLC,

Respondent.

ORDER APPROVING
SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT

The Commission has jurisdiction over the subject matter
of this case and over the Parties by virtue of the
filing of a timely Notice of Contest.

The S ettlement
Agreement (�Agreement�) between the Parties has been considered. The Agreement
has been served
on all Parties and Authorized Employee Representatives and posted in the
manner prescribed by Commission Rule 7(g). [1] Ten days have passed
since service and posting
and no objection to the Agreement has
been filed.

The Agreement
is APPROVED under 5 U.S.C. �554(c)(1) and Commission Rule 100(c) as in compliance with those sections. The
terms of the Agreement are
incorporated, in their entirety, by reference in this ORDER .

This ORDER shall
become final thirty (30) days from the date of docketing by the Executive Secretary, unless review thereof
is directed by a Commission Member within that time.
29 U.S.C. �661(j).

SO
ORDERED.

���������������������������������������������������� /s/
Patrick B. Augustine

Dated:
September 23, 2016

Patrick B. Augustine

Judge,
OSHRC

[1] Rules of Procedure of the
Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, 29 C.F.R �2200.1 -.212, as
amended, 55 Fed. Reg. 22780-4 (June 4, 1990).