Ezel / Agency Decisions / KENT 86-98

Mitch Coal Company, Inc. (ALJ decision, September 23, 1986)

Mitch Coal Company, Inc. (FMSHRC KENT 86-98): Reduced penalty settlement approved for $500

Decision type
ALJ decision
Docket
KENT 86-98
Decided
September 23, 1986
Presiding judge
Joseph B. Kennedy
Outcome
Settled
Precedential status
Final order, not precedent
Checked against source
2026-10-19
Official source
Read the official release (fmshrc.gov)
PDF
View Official PDF

Apply this to your situation

This order from 1986 bound only the parties to this case; it isn't precedent. Ask about your situation and see what the current MSHA standards and Commission precedent say, with citations.

Currency note: this decision dates from 1986
The MSHA standards may have been amended, penalty amounts have been adjusted, and later Commission or court decisions may have changed the analysis since then. Treat this page as historical context, not current compliance advice. Verify the current standard before relying on any specific rule, threshold, or penalty mentioned here.
Final ALJ decision, not Commission precedent
This decision became final under the 40-day rule in 30 U.S.C. § 823(d)(1) because no later Commission review appears in the official index. It binds the parties but is not Commission precedent. The full text below is from the official FMSHRC release.
About this page: The plain-English summary and decision snapshot below were written by Ezel based on the official FMSHRC release. The full text is the agency's own release.
Read the official release (fmshrc.gov)

Plain-English summary

The parties in Mitch Coal Company's civil penalty case asked to cut proposed penalties by half because a depressed coal market affected the company's ability to continue operating. Judge Joseph B. Kennedy independently evaluated the request and approved the settlement. He ordered the company to pay $500 in two $250 installments, due October 20 and November 20, 1986. The released decision does not identify the underlying citations or standards.

Decision snapshot

  • Cited standard: None identified in the released decision.
  • Outcome: Settlement approved for $500, payable in two installments; case dismissed upon payment.
  • Key point: The judge accepted the company's ability-to-pay argument for reducing the proposed penalties by 50 percent.

Full text (FMSHRC public release)

CCASE:
SOL (MSHA) V. MITCH COAL
DDATE:
19860923
TTEXT:

~1431

Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission Office of Administrative Law Judges

SECRETARY OF LABOR
CIVIL PENALTY PROCEEDING
MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH
ADMINISTRATION (MSHA),
Docket No. KENT 86-98
PETITIONER
A.C. No. 15-05209-03522

v. No. E-4 Mine

MITCH COAL COMPANY, INC.,
RESPONDENT

DECISION APPROVING SETTLEMENT

This matter is before me on the parties' motion to approve a settlement reducing the amount of the penalties proposed by 50 percent due to the depressed state of the market for coal and its consequent impact on the operator's ability to continue in business.

Based on an independent evaluation and de novo review of the justification for the reduction, I find the same is in accord with the purposes and policy of the Act.

Accordingly, it is ORDERED that the motion be, and hereby is, GRANTED. It is FURTHER ORDERED that the operator pay the amount of the penalty agreed upon, $500.00, in installments of $250.00 each due on or before Monday, October 20, 1986 and Thursday, November 20, 1986. Finally, it is ORDERED that, subject to payment, the captioned matter be DISMISSED.

Joseph B. Kennedy
Administrative Law Judge

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