Rogers Group, Inc. (Commission decision, March 1, 2005)

Plain-English summary

Rogers Group’s Lowell Quarry received a proposed penalty assessment from MSHA but did not file a hearing request within 30 days because of an error by its safety administrator. The assessment therefore became a final Commission order. Rogers asked the Commission to reopen it, and the Secretary did not oppose the request. The Commission remanded the matter to the Chief Administrative Law Judge to decide whether Rogers had good cause for missing the deadline and whether reopening was appropriate.

Decision snapshot

• Governing provisions: 30 U.S.C. § 815(a); 29 C.F.R. § 2700.1(b)
• Outcome: The matter was remanded for a determination whether good cause supported reopening the final penalty assessment.
• Key point: A missed penalty-contest deadline may be revisited when the operator can show good cause, but the judge must make that determination.

Full text (FMSHRC public release)

ROGERS GROUP, INC. -- March 1, 2005

FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH REVIEW COMMISSION

601 New Jersey Avenue, NW,

Suite 9500

Washington, DC 20001

March 1, 2005

SECRETARY OF LABOR, :
MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH :
ADMINISTRATION (MSHA) :
: Docket No. CENT 2005-25-M
v. : A.C. No. 03-01640-37277
:
ROGERS GROUP, INC. :

BEFORE: Duffy, Chairman; Jordan, Suboleski, and Young, Commissioners

ORDER

BY THE COMMISSION:

This matter arises under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, 30 U.S.C.
§ 801 et seq. (2000) ("Mine Act"). On November 5, 2004, the Commission received from Rogers Group, Inc. ("Rogers") a letter requesting that the Commission reopen a penalty assessment that had become a final order of the Commission pursuant to section 105(a) of the Mine Act, 30 U.S.C. § 815(a).

Under section 105(a) of the Mine Act, an operator who wishes to contest a proposed penalty must notify the Secretary of Labor no later than 30 days after receiving the proposed penalty assessment. If the operator fails to notify the Secretary, the proposed penalty assessment is deemed a final order of the Commission. 30 U.S.C. § 815(a).

On September 9, 2004, the Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration ("MSHA") issued a proposed penalty assessment (A.C. No. 03-01640-37277) to Rogers' Lowell Quarry in Benton, Arkansas. In its request, Rogers states that, due to an error by its safety administrator, it failed to file a hearing request in a timely manner. Letter at 1. Copies of the proposed assessment and related citations are attached to Rogers' request to reopen. Rogers did not provide any other supporting documentation. The Secretary states that she does not oppose Rogers' request for relief.

We have held that in appropriate circumstances, we possess jurisdiction to reopen uncontested assessments that have become final Commission orders under section 105(a). Jim Walter Res., Inc., 15 FMSHRC 782, 786-89 (May 1993) ("JWR"). In evaluating requests to reopen final section 105(a) orders, the Commission has found guidance in Rule 60(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure under which, for example, a party could be entitled to relief from a final order of the Commission on the basis of inadvertence or mistake. See 29 C.F.R.
§ 2700.1(b) ("the Commission and its Judges shall be guided so far as practicable by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure"); JWR, 15 FMSHRC at 787. We have also observed that default is a harsh remedy and that, if the defaulting party can make a showing of good cause for a failure to timely respond, the case may be reopened and appropriate proceedings on the merits permitted. See Coal Prep. Servs., Inc., 17 FMSHRC 1529, 1530 (Sept. 1995).

Having reviewed Rogers' request, in the interests of justice, we remand this matter to the Chief Administrative Law Judge for a determination of whether good cause exists for Rogers' failure to timely contest the penalty proposal and whether relief from the final order should be granted. If it is determined that such relief is appropriate, this case shall proceed pursuant to the Mine Act and the Commission's Procedural Rules, 29 C.F.R. Part 2700.

______

Michael F. Duffy, Chairman

______

Mary Lu Jordan, Commissioner

______

Stanley C. Suboleski, Commissioner

______

Michael G. Young, Commissioner

Distribution:

Susie Arsenault, Safety Administrator

Rogers Group, Inc.

550 South Adams Street

Bloomington, IN 47403-2165

W. Christian Schumann, Esq.

Office of the Solicitor

U.S. Department of Labor

1100 Wilson Blvd., 22nd Floor

Arlington, VA 22209

Chief Administrative Law Judge Robert J. Lesnick

Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission

601 New Jersey Ave., N.W., Suite 9500

Washington, D.C. 20001