Lucky Branch Coal Co., Inc.

Plain-English summary

Lucky Branch Coal Co. faced two civil penalty proceedings involving Mine No. 4. The parties proposed reducing the penalty from $1,145 to $850 and dismissing the cases after payment. Judge Gary Melick found the settlement appropriate under the Mine Act's penalty criteria, approved it, and ordered Lucky Branch to pay $850 within 30 days.

Decision snapshot

• Cited provisions: 30 U.S.C. §§ 815(d) and 820(i)
• Outcome: The settlement was approved, the penalty was reduced to $850, and payment was due within 30 days.
• Key point: The Judge approved the parties' negotiated penalty reduction after reviewing the settlement representations and documentation.

Full text (FMSHRC public release)

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SECRETARY OF LABOR, : CIVIL PENALTY PROCEEDINGS
MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH :
ADMINISTRATION (MSHA), : Docket No. KENT 92-231
Petitioner : A.C. No. 15-14533-03542
v. :
: Docket No. KENT 92-535
LUCKY BRANCH COAL CO., INC., : A.C. No. 15-14533-03543
Respondent :
: Mine No. 4

               DECISION APPROVING SETTLEMENT

Appearances: Thomas A. Grooms, Esquire, Office of the
Solicitor, U.S. Department of Labor,
Nashville, Tennessee, for Petitioner;
Don Hogg, Vice-President, Whitesburg,
Kentucky, for Respondent

Before: Judge Melick

 These cases are before me upon petitions for assessment

of civil penalty under Section 105(d) of the Federal Mine
Safety and Health Act of 1977 (the Act). During hearings,
the parties filed a motion to approve settlement and to
dismiss the cases. A reduction in penalty from $1,145 to
$850 is proposed. I have considered the representations and
documentation submitted in these cases, and I conclude that
the proffered settlement is appropriate under the criteria
set forth in Section 110(i) of the Act.

 WHEREFORE, the motion for approval of settlement is

GRANTED, and it is ORDERED that Respondent pay a penalty
of $850 within 30 days of this order.

                           Gary Melick
                           Administrative Law Judge
                           703-756-6261

Distribution:

Thomas A. Grooms, Esq., Office of the Solicitor, U.S. Department
of Labor, 2002 Richard Jones Road, Suite B-201, Nashville, TN
37215 (Certified Mail)

Don Hogg, Vice-President, Lucky Branch Coal Co., Inc., HC 84,
Box 2136, Whitesburg, KY 41858 (Certified Mail)

/lh