Ezel / Agency Decisions / PENN 99-147

Rayne Energy Incorporated (ALJ decision, May 12, 1999)

Rayne Energy Incorporated (FMSHRC PENN 99-147): Penalty petition must be resubmitted by an attorney

Decision type
ALJ decision
Docket
PENN 99-147
Decided
May 12, 1999
Presiding judge
Paul Merlin
Outcome
Procedural
Precedential status
Interlocutory order, not final
Checked against source
2026-08-11
Cited standards
30 U.S.C. § 815(d)
Official source
Read the official release (fmshrc.gov)
PDF
View Official PDF

Apply this to your situation

This order from 1999 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 1999
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.
Interlocutory ALJ order, not Commission precedent
This ruling required an attorney-signed penalty petition before the case could proceed. The case was still pending in whole or in part, so this ruling did not finally dispose of it under the 40-day rule in 30 U.S.C. § 823(d)(1). 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

Rayne Energy was the respondent in a civil penalty proceeding involving the Rayne No. 1 mine. The Secretary's penalty petition was signed by a paralegal specialist for the Philadelphia Regional Counsel rather than by an attorney in the Office of the Solicitor. Judge Paul Merlin ordered the petition to be resubmitted and signed by an attorney within 21 days. He warned that otherwise the case could be dismissed for want of prosecution.

Decision snapshot

  • Governing provision: 30 U.S.C. § 815(d)
  • Outcome: The penalty petition was ordered resubmitted and signed by an attorney within 21 days.
  • Key point: The filing had to be signed by an attorney in the Office of the Solicitor or the proceeding risked dismissal for want of prosecution.

Full text (FMSHRC public release)

RAYNE ENERGY INCORPORATED
May 12, 1999
PENN 99-147

FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH REVIEW COMMISSION

1730 K STREET, N.W., 6TH FLOOR

WASHINGTON, D. C. 20006-3868

May 12, 1999

SECRETARY OF LABOR,
: CIVIL PENALTY PROCEEDING
MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH :
ADMINISTRATION (MSHA), : Docket No. PENN 99-147 Petitioner : A. C. No. 36-00930-03604 :
v. : Rayne No. 1
RAYNE ENERGY INCORPORATED, :
Respondent :

ORDER TO RESUBMIT PENALTY PETITION

This case is before me upon a petition for assessment of civil penalties under section 105(d) of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977. On April 26, 1999, a penalty petition was filed on behalf of the Secretary which was answered by the operator on May 3, 1999.

The penalty petition was filed by the Philadelphia Regional Counsel but was not signed by the Regional Counsel. Rather, an individual who styles herself as a "paralegal specialist" signed for the Regional Counsel. I have no idea who this "paralegal specialist" is or what her qualifications are. I have recently refused to accept a settlement motion filed by a paralegal from this regional office as well as penalty petitions and a settlement motion filed by law clerks from another regional office. Rayne Energy Inc., 21 FMSHRC , (April 29, 1999); Phoenix Associates Land Service Inc., 21 FMSHRC , (May 3, 1999); Bowen Industries, Inc., Docket No. CENT 98-
268-M, 21 FMSHRC
, (April 26, 1999). The petition
filed in this case must be refiled and signed by an attorney in the Office of the Solicitor. Otherwise a show cause order will be issued why this case should not be dismissed for want of prosecution.

In light of the foregoing, it is ORDERED that within 21 days of the date of this order the penalty petition be resubmitted and signed by an attorney in the Office of the Solicitor.

Paul Merlin
Chief Administrative Law Judge

Distribution: (Certified Mail)

B. Anne Gwynn, Esq., Office of the Solicitor, U. S. Department of Labor, 3535 Market Street, Gateway Building, Room 14480, Philadelphia, PA 19104

Thomas Mascolino, Esq., Office of the Solicitor, U. S. Department of Labor, 4015 Wilson Boulevard, Room 420, Arlington, VA 22203

Joseph A. Yuhas, Esq., P. O. Box 25, Barnesboro, PA 15714

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