Farrell-Cooper Mining Company

Plain-English summary

Farrell-Cooper Mining Company applied for attorney fees and expenses under the Equal Access to Justice Act after an underlying Mine Act matter. The parties agreed to dismiss the application after the Secretary accepted that ground control plans do not require MSHA approval to be deemed filed under 30 C.F.R. § 77.1000-1 and agreed to pay $8,500 in full settlement. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon found the settlement appropriate under the EAJA, granted the motion to dismiss, and dismissed the case.

Decision snapshot

• Cited authority: 5 U.S.C. § 504; 29 C.F.R. §§ 2704.100 and 2704.305; 30 C.F.R. § 77.1000-1
• Outcome: The settlement was approved, the motion to dismiss was granted, and the EAJA proceeding was dismissed after payment of $8,500.
• Key point: An ALJ may approve an EAJA settlement when the agreement is appropriate under the governing statute and Commission rules.

Full text (FMSHRC public release)

FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH REVIEW COMMISSION

                        OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGES
                                   2 Skyline, Suite 1000
                                    5203 Leesburg Pike
                               Falls Church, Virginia 22041




                                     July 12, 2000

FARRELL-COOPER MINING COMPANY, : EQUAL ACCESS TO JUSTICE
Applicant : PROCEEDING
:
v. : Docket No. EAJ 2000-1
:
SECRETARY OF LABOR, : Formerly CENT 2000-6-R
MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH : CENT 2000-7-R
ADMINISTRATION (MSHA), :
Respondent : Heavener East Mine 34-01815

                              ORDER OF DISMISSAL

Before: Judge Hodgdon

     This case is before me on an Application for Attorney’s Fees and Expenses under the

Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA), 5 U.S.C. § 504, and the Commission’s implementation of
the Act in Commission proceedings, 29 C.F.R. § 2704.100 et seq. The parties, by counsel, have
filed a motion to dismiss the application, in accordance with 29 C.F.R. § 2704.305, because they
have reached a settlement of the matter. In settling the case, the Secretary has agreed that
“Ground Control Plans do not require the approval of MSHA in order to be deemed filed with the
Agency as required by 30 C.F.R. § 77.1000-1" and, without admitting that the Applicant is
eligible for attorney’s fees and expenses under EAJA, agreed “to pay the Applicant $8,500.00 in
full settlement of Applicant’s claims in this matter .”

   Having considered the representations and documentation submitted, I conclude that the

settlement is appropriate under the EAJA. Accordingly, good cause having been shown, the
motion is GRANTED and this case is DISMISSED.

                                           T. Todd Hodgdon
                                           Administrative Law Judge



                                          858

Distribution: (Certified Mail)

Beverlei E. Colston, Esq., U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the Solicitor, 525 S. Griffin
Street, Suite 501, Dallas, TX 75202

Thomas C. Means, Esq., Crowell & Moring, LLP, 1001 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20004-2595

nt

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