Larry E. Osborne v. Sterling Smokeless Coal Company, Incorporated (Board decision, October 31, 2022)

BRB final decision. This unpublished order is not precedent. The Benefits Review Board denied the Director's motion to publish its earlier decision in this case. The motion is disposed of; Board finality is governed by 20 C.F.R. § 802.406.

Plain-English summary

The Director of the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs asked the Board to publish its September 13, 2022 decision in Larry Osborne's black lung case. Osborne supported the request, and no other party responded. The Board noted that it had since published other decisions addressing the same arguments about self-insured carrier liability and transfer of payment to the federal Trust Fund. It denied the motion to publish. The order does not change the earlier benefits decision.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: Board motion to publish an earlier black lung decision.
• Outcome: Motion to publish denied; the earlier decision remains unpublished.
• Key point: Other published Board rulings already addressed the carrier liability arguments raised in this case.

Full text (DOL BRB public release)

U.S. Department of Labor
Benefits Review Board
200 Constitution Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20210-0001

BRB No. 20-0347 BLA

LARRY E. OSBORNE
)
)
Claimant-Respondent
)
)
v. )
)
STERLING SMOKELESS COAL
)
COMPANY, INCORPORATED
)
)
and
)
) DATE ISSUED: 10/31/2022
PEABODY ENERGY CORPORATION
)
)
Employer/Carrier-
)
Petitioners
)
)
DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF WORKERS’
)
COMPENSATION PROGRAMS, UNITED
)
STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
)
)
Party-in-Interest
) ORDER

The Director, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (the Director), has filed a motion to publish the Benefits Review Board’s decision issued on September 13, 2022, in the captioned case. Claimant responds in support of the Director’s request. No other response to the motion has been received. The Board has published decisions in Bailey v. E. Assoc. Coal Co., BLR , BRB No. 20-0094 BLA (Oct. 25, 2022), Howard v. Apogee Coal Co., BLR , BRB No. 20-0229 BLA (Oct. 18, 2022), and Graham v. E. Assoc. Coal Co., BLR , BRB No. 20-0221 BLA (June 23, 2022), which, similar to the captioned case, considered and rejected each of Employer’s arguments that the self-insured carrier in these cases was improperly designated and liability should transfer to the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund. Because the Board has now issued published decisions addressing all of the liability arguments raised in this case, we deny the Director’s motion.

By Order of the Board:

Thomas O. Shepherd, Jr.
Clerk of the Appellate Boards

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