Ezel / Agency Decisions / LAKE 90-57-DM

Ernst Materials Service (ALJ decision, August 21, 1990)

Ernst Materials Service (FMSHRC LAKE 90-57-DM): Discrimination proceeding dismissed

Decision type
ALJ decision
Docket
LAKE 90-57-DM
Decided
August 21, 1990
Presiding judge
George A. Koutras
Outcome
Procedural
Precedential status
Final order, not precedent
Checked against source
2026-08-16
Official source
Read the official release (fmshrc.gov)
PDF
View Official PDF

Apply this to your situation

This order from 1990 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 1990
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 Secretary of Labor sought to dismiss a discrimination proceeding involving Ernst Materials Service after additional investigation showed that the respondent corporation was no longer in business and its owner had died. The Secretary reported that no successor corporation could reasonably be brought into the case. Judge George A. Koutras lifted the stay and granted the motion to dismiss.

Decision snapshot

  • Governing provisions: None stated in the release
  • Outcome: The stayed discrimination proceeding was dismissed.
  • Key point: The case ended after the Secretary determined that no successor corporation could reasonably be impleaded.

Full text (FMSHRC public release)

CCASE:
SOL (MSHA) V. ERNST MATERIALS SERVICE
DDATE:
19900821
TTEXT:

Page 2

~1697
Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (F.M.S.H.R.C.) Office of Administrative Law Judges

SECRETARY OF LABOR, DISCRIMINATION PROCEEDING MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION (MSHA), Docket No. LAKE 90-57-DM ON BEHALF OF MSHA Case No. MD 89-65 HARRY W. MULLEN, COMPLAINANT Sand and Gravel Plant

v.

ERNST MATERIALS SERVICE,
RESPONDENT

ORDER OF DISMISSAL

Before: Judge Koutras

Statement of the Case

On June 12, 1990, I issued an order granting the Secretary's motion for a continuance of the hearing scheduled for June 26, 1990, in Cincinnati, Ohio, and for a stay of the proceeding in order to afford the Secretary time to conduct an additional investigation. The Secretary has now filed a Motion to Dismiss this matter on the ground that further investigation revealed that the respondent corporation is no longer in business and the owner of the former respondent corporation died on June 22, 1990. The Secretary states that an analysis of successor liability was conducted under the standard enunciated in Munsey v. Smitty Baker Coal Company, et al., 2 FMSHRC 3463 and its progeny, and that the results of the analysis show that no successor corporation exists that could reasonably be impleaded by the Secretary.

ORDER

In view of the foregoing circumstances, the previously issued stay order IS LIFTED, and for good cause shown, the Secretary's motion IS GRANTED, and this matter IS DISMISSED.

George A. Koutras
Administrative Law Judge

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