Ezel / Agency Decisions / SE 80-21-M

Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Carolina Stalite Company (ALJ decision, May 14, 1982)

Secretary of Labor (MSHA) v. Carolina Stalite Company (FMSHRC SE 80-21-M): Five penalty cases dismissed on jurisdiction ruling

Decision type
ALJ decision
Dockets
SE 80-21-M, SE 80-61-M, SE 80-73-M, SE 80-79-M, SE 81-6-M
Decided
May 14, 1982
Presiding judge
Michael A. Lasher Jr.
Outcome
Procedural
Precedential status
Reviewed by the Commission
Checked against source
2026-10-21
Official source
Read the official release (fmshrc.gov)
PDF
View Official PDF

What's the rule today?

This ALJ decision was superseded by the Commission's decision in the same case. Ezel starts from the controlling decision and answers your situation under current law, with citations.

Currency note: this decision dates from 1982
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.
ALJ decision, later reviewed by the Commission
This decision was issued by an FMSHRC Administrative Law Judge, but it was not the final word in the case: the Commission directed review, and the Commission's decision is the one citable as precedent.
Read the Commission's decision in this case
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

Carolina Stalite sought summary decision in five MSHA penalty cases after the Commission had found that its facility was outside the Mine Act. Judge Michael A. Lasher Jr. applied that jurisdiction ruling and dismissed all five proceedings. The order did not assess any penalty or decide the alleged violations. A later appeals court decision reversed the jurisdiction ruling, and the Commission returned these cases for further proceedings.

Decision snapshot

  • Cited standards: None identified in this order.
  • Outcome: Five penalty proceedings dismissed at this stage; the dismissal was later reversed and remanded.
  • Key point: The dismissal depended on a jurisdiction ruling that an appeals court later overturned.

Full text (FMSHRC public release)

CCASE:
SOL (MSHA) V. CAROLINA STALITE
DDATE:
19820514
TTEXT:
~910

Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission Office of Administrative Law Judges

SECRETARY OF LABOR,
Civil Penalty Proceedings
MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH
ADMINISTRATION (MSHA),
Docket No. SE 80-21-M
PETITIONER
Docket No. SE 80-61-M
v. Docket No. SE 80-73-M
Docket No. SE 80-79-M
CAROLINA STALITE COMPANY,
Docket No. SE 81-6-M
RESPONDENT
Stalite Mill

DECISION AND ORDER GRANTING RESPONDENT'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY DECISION

In view of the Solicitor's frequent failure to respond to critical motions, on May 4, 1982, I issued a written order requiring the Secretary to "fully respond" to Respondent's Motion for Summary Decision. Petitioner's response merely urged that an extension be granted pending its appeal of the dispositive decision of the Commission to the United States Court of Appeals.

By its decision dated March 29, 1982, the Commission determined that the Respondent was not a mine subject to the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977. Secretary v. Carolina Stalite Company, 4 MSHRC 423 (1982). Accordingly, Respondent's motion is granted and the five subject penalty proceedings are dismissed.

Michael A. Lasher, Jr.
Judge

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