Secretary of Labor v. Nyrstar Tennessee Mines, Strawberry Plains, LLC (Commission decision, January 12, 2021)

Plain-English summary

Nyrstar intended to contest part of a proposed penalty assessment but inadvertently mailed the contest to MSHA's St. Louis payment address with payment for the uncontested penalties. The assessment became a final Commission order before the mistake was corrected. The Secretary did not oppose reopening but urged Nyrstar to send future contests to the correct address. The Commission found mistake, inadvertence, and excusable neglect, reopened the assessment, and remanded it for further proceedings.

Decision snapshot

• Cited authority: 30 U.S.C. § 815(a); 29 C.F.R. § 2700.1(b)
• Outcome: The final assessment was reopened and the matter was remanded.
• Key point: Sending a contest with partial payment to MSHA's payment address supported relief from the resulting final order.

Full text (FMSHRC public release)

FEDERAL MINE SAFETY
AND HEALTH REVIEW COMMISSION

1331 PENNSYLVANIA AVE., N.W., SUITE 520N

WASHINGTON, DC 20004-1710

January 12, 2021

SECRETARY OF LABOR,

MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH     

ADMINISTRATION (MSHA)        

v.

NYRSTAR TENNESSEE MINES,
STRAWBERRY PLAINS, LLC

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SE 2020-0250-M

A.C. No. 40-00166-509672

BEFORE:  Rajkovich, Chairman; Althen and Traynor, 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. (2012) (“Mine Act”). On March 6, 2020, the Commission received from Nyrstar Tennessee Mines, Strawberry Plains, LLC (“Nyrstar”) a motion seeking to reopen a penalty assessment that appeared to have become a final order of the Commission pursuant to section 105(a) of the Mine Act, 30 U.S.C. § 815(a).

Under section 105(a)
of the Mine Act, an operator who wishes to contest a proposed penalty must notify the Secretary of Labor no later than 30 days after receiving the proposed penalty assessment. If the operator fails to notify the Secretary, the proposed penalty assessment is deemed a final order of the Commission. 30 U.S.C. § 815(a).

We have held,
however, that in appropriate circumstances, we possess jurisdiction to reopen uncontested assessments that have become final Commission orders under section 105(a). Jim Walter Res., Inc., 15 FMSHRC 782, 786-89 (May 1993) (“ JWR ”). In evaluating requests to reopen final orders, the Commission has found guidance in Rule 60(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, under which the Commission may relieve a party from a final order of the Commission on the basis of mistake, inadvertence, excusable neglect, or other reason justifying relief. See 29 C.F.R. § 2700.1(b) (“the Commission and its Judges shall be guided so far as practicable by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure”); JWR , 15 FMSHRC at 787. We have also observed that default is a harsh remedy and that, if the defaulting party can make a showing of good cause for a failure to timely respond, the case may be reopened and appropriate proceedings on the merits permitted. See Coal Prep. Servs., Inc., 17 FMSHRC 1529, 1530 (Sept. 1995).

Records of the
Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (“MSHA”) indicate that the proposed assessment was delivered on March 6, 2020, and became a final order of the Commission on April 7. Nyrstar’s motion says that it inadvertently sent the notice of contest to MSHA’s payment address in St. Louis, along with partial payment of the uncontested penalties.

The Secretary does
not oppose the requests to reopen, but urges the operator to take steps to ensure that future penalty contests are timely filed at the correct address. Having reviewed Nyrstar’s request and the Secretary’s response, we find that the operator has sufficiently explained its failure to timely contest the citations at issue as the result of mistake, inadvertence, and excusable neglect. In the interest of justice, we hereby reopen this matter and remand it 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 .

/s/ Marco M. Rajkovich,
Jr.

Marco M. Rajkovich, Jr., Chairman

/s/ William I. Althen

William I. Althen, Commissioner

/s/ Arthur R. Traynor, III

Arthur R.
Traynor, III, Commissioner

Distribution (by e-mail):

Donna Vetrano Pryor, Esq.

Husch Blackwell, LLP

1801 Wewatta Street, Suite 1000

Denver, CO 80202

Counsel for Nyrstar Tennessee Mines, Strawberry Plains, LLC

[email protected]

John M. McCracken, Esq.

Office of the Solicitor

U.S. Department of Labor

201 12 th Street South, Suite 401

Arlington, VA 22202-5452

[email protected]

Chief Administrative Law Judge Glenn Voisin

Federal Mine Safety & Health Review Commission

1331 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 520N

Washington, DC 20004-1710

[email protected]

Melanie Garris

Office of Civil Penalty Compliance

Mine Safety and Health Administration

201 12 th Street South, Suite 401

Arlington, VA 22202-5452

[email protected]