Secretary of Labor v. River View Coal, LLC (Commission decision, June 27, 2023)

Plain-English summary

River View Coal missed a proposed-assessment contest deadline during a transition in safety personnel following a retirement. An assistant safety director temporarily handled contests and miscalculated the filing date. The operator mailed the contest one day after the assessment became a final order and later moved to reopen after MSHA confirmed it was late. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. The Commission found an inadvertent mistake caused by personnel changes, reopened the assessment, and remanded the case for further proceedings.

Decision snapshot

• Cited authority: 30 U.S.C. § 815(a)
• Outcome: The final assessment was reopened and remanded for further proceedings.
• Key point: A one-day delay caused by a documented personnel transition and deadline miscalculation supported reopening.

Full text (FMSHRC public release)

FEDERAL
MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH REVIEW COMMISSION

1331
PENNSYLVANIA AVE., N.W., SUITE 520N

WASHINGTON,
DC 20004-1710

SECRETARY
OF LABOR,

MINE
SAFETY AND HEALTH    

ADMINISTRATION
(MSHA)       

v.

RIVER
VIEW COAL, LLC

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:

:

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Docket
No. KENT 2022-0102

A.C.
No. 15-19374-554932

BEFORE: 
Jordan, Chair; Althen, Rajkovich, and Baker, 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. (2018) (“Mine Act”). On July 21, 2022, the Commission received from River View Coal, LLC (“River View”) a motion 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 orders, the Commission has found guidance in Rule 60(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, under which the Commission may relieve a party from a final order of the Commission on the basis of mistake, inadvertence, excusable neglect, or other reason justifying relief. 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).

Records
of the Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (“MSHA”) indicate that the proposed assessment was delivered on May 23, 2022, and became a final order of the Commission on June 22, 2022. River View asserts that it inadvertently failed to timely file its notice of contest due to personnel changes involving a retirement and subsequent positions and duties being handled by different staff. Specifically, the mine’s safety director asserts that he assumed the duties of contesting proposed assessments shortly after his predecessor retired. However, there was a brief period when the assistant safety director at the mine was covering the role of contesting the assessments. During this period, the assistant safety director miscalculated the deadline for filing the notice of contest, therefore the operator failed to file its contest form in a timely manner.

Despite committing this error, the
operator processed and mailed the contest form to MSHA one day after the final order date, on June 23, 2022. On July 15, 2022, the operator received correspondence from MSHA stating that although MSHA had received the contest on June 23, 2022, it was untimely as of June 22, 2022. The Secretary does not oppose the request to reopen, but urges the operator to take steps to ensure that future penalty contests are timely filed.

Having
reviewed River View’s request and the Secretary’s response, we find that the operator committed an inadvertent mistake due to its personnel changes and subsequent positions and duties being handled by different staff. In the interest of justice, 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.

/s/ Mary Lu Jordan

Mary
Lu Jordan, Chair

/s/
William I. Althen

William
I. Althen, Commissioner

/s/
Marco M. Rajkovich, Jr.

Marco
M. Rajkovich, Jr., Commissioner

/s/
Timothy J. Baker

Timothy
J. Baker, Commissioner

Distribution:

Tyler
H. Fields, Esq.

River
View Coal, LLC

1146
Monarch Street, Suite 350

Lexington,
KY 40513

[email protected]

April
Nelson, Esq.

Associate
Solicitor

Office
of the Solicitor

U.S.
Department of Labor

Division
of Mine Safety and Health

201
12th Street South, Suite 401

Arlington,
VA 22202

[email protected]

Emily
Toler Scott, Esq.

Counsel
for Appellate Litigation

Office
of the Solicitor

U.S.
Department of Labor

Division
of Mine Safety and Health

201
12th Street South, Suite 401

Arlington,
VA 22202

[email protected]

Melanie
Garris

USDOL/MSHA, OAASEI/CPCO

201
12th Street South, Suite 401

Arlington,
VA 22202

[email protected]

Chief
Administrative Law Judge Glynn F. Voisin

Federal
Mine Safety Health Review Commission

1331
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Suite 520N

Washington,
DC 20004-1710

[email protected]