Junction City Mining Company, LLC (Commission decision, December 2, 2011)

Plain-English summary

Junction City Mining failed to answer a penalty petition, and the Chief Judge entered a default through a show-cause order. The operator said it never received that order or other correspondence before a delinquency notice arrived. The Secretary did not oppose relief. The Commission held that the default had not become final because Junction never received the show-cause order, remanded the case, and gave the operator 30 days to answer.

Decision snapshot

• Governing law: Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977
• Outcome: The default was held nonfinal and the penalty proceeding was remanded, with an answer due within 30 days.
• Key point: A default based on an unreceived show-cause order does not become a final Commission order.

Full text (FMSHRC public release)

Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission

FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH REVIEW COMMISSION

601 NEW JERSEY AVENUE, NW

SUITE 9500

WASHINGTON, DC 20001

December 2, 2011

SECRETARY OF LABOR,

MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH

ADMINISTRATION (MSHA)

v.

JUNCTION CITY MINING COMPANY, L.L.C.

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

Docket No. SE 2010-1017-M

A.C. No. 09-01139-226149

BEFORE: Jordan, Chairman; Duffy, Young, Cohen, and Nakamura, Commissioners

ORDER

BY THE COMMISSION:

This matter arises under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, 30 U.S.C.
§ 801 et seq. (2006) (“Mine Act”). On August 16, 2011, the Commission received from Junction City Mining Company, LLC (“Junction”) a motion seeking to reopen a penalty assessment proceeding and relieve it from the order of default entered against it.

On March 18, 2011, Chief Judge Lesnick issued an Order to Show Cause and Default Order in response to Junction’s failure to answer the Secretary’s August 24, 2010 Petition for Assessment of Civil Penalty. The judge ordered the operator to file its answer within 30 days or it would be in default.

Junction asserts that it did not receive the Order to Show Cause or any other correspondence before receiving a delinquency notice regarding this case. The Secretary does not oppose the motion to reopen.

Having reviewed Junction’s request and the Secretary’s response, in the interest of justice, we conclude that the Order of Default has not become a final order of the Commission because the Order to Show Cause was never received by Junction. Accordingly, this case is remanded to the Chief Administrative Law Judge for further proceedings pursuant to the Mine Act and the Commission’s Procedural Rules, 29 C.F.R. Part 2700. Junction shall file an Answer to the Show Cause Order within 30 days of the date of this order.

/s/ Mary Lu Jordan

Mary Lu Jordan, Chairman

/s/ Michael F. Duffy

Michael F. Duffy, Commissioner

/s/Michael G. Young

Michael G. Young, Commissioner

/s/ Robert F. Cohen, Jr.

Robert F. Cohen, Jr., Commissioner

/s/ Patrick K. Nakamura

Patrick K. Nakamura, Commissioner

Distribution:

Lorne Whitley, Safety Mngr.

Junction City Mining Co.

P.O. Box 615

2158 Packing House Rd.

Talbotton, GA 31827

W. Christian Schumann, Esq.

Office of the Solicitor

U.S. Department of Labor

1100 Wilson Blvd., Room 2220

Arlington, VA 22209-2296

Melanie Garris

Office of Civil Penalty Compliance

MSHA

U.S. Dept. of Labor

1100 Wilson Blvd., 25th Floor

Arlington, VA 22209-3939

Chief Administrative Law Judge Robert J. Lesnick

Federal Mine Safety & Health Review Commission

601 New Jersey Avenue, N. W., Suite 9500

Washington, D.C. 20001-2021