Centex Materials, LLC (Commission decision, March 11, 2011)

Plain-English summary

Centex Materials received an assessment covering six citations and said it mailed payment for three penalties together with a contest of the remaining penalties to MSHA's St. Louis office. MSHA had no record of receiving the contest in either St. Louis or Arlington, where the form should have been sent. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. The Commission reopened the assessment, remanded it to the Chief Administrative Law Judge, and directed the Secretary to file a penalty petition within 45 days.

Decision snapshot

• Governing provisions: 29 C.F.R. §§ 2700.1(b) and 2700.28; 30 U.S.C. §§ 801 and 815(a)
• Outcome: The final assessment was reopened and remanded for proceedings on the contested penalties.
• Key point: The Commission permitted merits proceedings when an operator said it timely mailed a contest that MSHA could not locate and the Secretary did not oppose reopening.

Full text (FMSHRC public release)

Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission

FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH REVIEW COMMISSION

601 NEW JERSEY AVENUE, NW

SUITE 9500

WASHINGTON, DC 20001

March 11, 2011

SECRETARY OF LABOR,

MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH

ADMINISTRATION (MSHA)

v.

CENTEX MATERIALS, LLC

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

Docket No. CENT 2011-194-M

A.C. No. 41-02241-227463

BEFORE: Jordan, Chairman; Duffy, Young, Cohen, and Nakamura, 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. (2006) (“Mine Act”). On November 18, 2010, the Commission received from Centex Materials, LLC (“Centex”) a letter seeking to 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).

We have held, however, 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 mistake, inadvertence, or excusable neglect. 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).

On August 4, 2010, the Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (“MSHA”) issued Proposed Penalty Assessment No. 000227463 to Centex, proposing civil penalties for six citations. In its letter seeking reopening, the operator asserts that it timely mailed payment for three penalties, along with the contest form for the remaining penalties to MSHA’s St. Louis office.

The Secretary states that she does not oppose reopening, but notes that MSHA has no record of receipt of the operator’s contest either in the Arlington, Virginia office, where it should have been sent, or in the St. Louis, Missouri office.

Having reviewed Centex’s request and the Secretary’s response, we hereby reopen this matter and remand it to the Chief Administrative Law Judge for further proceedings pursuant to the Mine Act and the Commission’s Procedural Rules, 29 C.F.R. Part 2700. Accordingly, consistent with Rule 28, the Secretary shall file a petition for assessment of penalty within 45 days of the date of this order. See 29 C.F.R. § 2700.28.

Mary Lu Jordan, Chairman

Michael F. Duffy, Commissioner

Michael G. Young, Commissioner

Robert F. Cohen, Jr., Commissioner

Patrick K. Nakamura, Commissioner

Distribution:

John M. Detmer

Centex Materials, LLC

3019 Alvin Devane Blvd.

Bldg.1, Suite 100

Austin, TX 78741

W. Christian Schumann, Esq.

Office of the Solicitor

U.S. Department of Labor

1100 Wilson Blvd., Room 2220

Arlington, VA 22209-2296

Melanie Garris

Office of Civil Penalty Compliance

MSHA

U.S. Dept. of Labor

1100 Wilson Blvd., 25th Floor

Arlington, VA 22209-3939

Chief Administrative Law Judge Robert J. Lesnick

Federal Mine Safety & Health Review Commission

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

Washington, D.C. 20001-2021