Ezel / Agency Decisions / KENT 94-524-R

Peabody Coal Company (ALJ decision, March 6, 1995)

Peabody Coal Company (FMSHRC KENT 94-524-R): Contest dismissed as moot after settlement

Decision type
ALJ decision
Docket
KENT 94-524-R
Decided
March 6, 1995
Presiding judge
Gary Melick
Outcome
Procedural
Precedential status
Final order, not precedent
Checked against source
2026-08-13
Official source
Read the official release (fmshrc.gov)
PDF
View Official PDF

Apply this to your situation

This order from 1995 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 1995
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 order dismissed the contest as moot after the parties settled the associated penalty proceeding. It 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 binding on the Commission in other cases. 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

Peabody Coal Company contested a citation involving its Martwick Underground Mine. At a January 31, 1995 hearing, the Judge found that the contest had become moot because the parties settled the associated penalty for the underlying citation in KENT 94-1321. Judge Gary Melick dismissed the contest.

Decision snapshot

  • Cited standard(s): The order does not identify a specific Mine Act or regulatory standard.
  • Outcome: The contest proceeding was dismissed as moot after settlement of the associated penalty case.
  • Key point: Settlement of the underlying penalty can make a related citation contest moot.

Full text (FMSHRC public release)


[DOCID: f:k94-524.wais]

PEABODY COAL COMPANY
March 6, 1995
KENT 94-524-R

FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH REVIEW COMMISSION

OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGES
2 SKYLINE, 10th FLOOR
5203 LEESBURG PIKE
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA 22041

March 6, 1995

PEABODY COAL COMPANY, : CONTEST PROCEEDING Contestant :
v. : Docket No. KENT 94-524-R
: Citation No. 3863265; 3/21/94
SECRETARY OF LABOR, :
MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH : Martwick Underground Mine
ADMINISTRATION (MSHA), : I.D. No. 15-14074 Respondent :

ORDER OF DISMISSAL

Appearances: Carl B. Boyd, Jr., Esq., Peabody Coal Company, Henderson, Kentucky for the Contestant;
Donna E. Sonner, Esq., Office of the Solicitor, U.S. Department of Labor, Nashville, Tennessee for the Respondent.

Before: Judge Melick

At hearing on January 31, 1995, this Contest Proceeding was rendered moot by the settlement between the parties of the associated penalty proposed for the underlying section 104(a) citation (See Docket No. KENT 94-1321). Under the circumstances this case is dismissed.

Gary Melick
Administrative Law Judge

Distribution:

Carl B. Boyd, Jr., Esq., Meyer, Hutchinson, Haynes & Boyd,
120 North Ingram Street, Suite A, Henderson, KY 42420 Donna
E. Sonner, Esq., Office of the Solicitor, U.S. Department of
Labor, 2002 Richard Jones Road, Suite B-201, Nashville, TN
37215-2862

/jf

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