Ezel / Agency Decisions / SE 88-53

B and D Coal Company, Incorporated (ALJ decision, April 17, 1989)

B and D Coal Company, Incorporated (FMSHRC SE 88-53): Settlement approved with $4,000 penalty

Decision type
ALJ decision
Docket
SE 88-53
Decided
April 17, 1989
Presiding judge
Avram Weisberger
Outcome
Settled
Precedential status
Final order, not precedent
Checked against source
2026-08-17
Cited standards
30 U.S.C. § 820(i)
Official source
Read the official release (fmshrc.gov)
PDF
View Official PDF

Apply this to your situation

This order from 1989 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 1989
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 order, not Commission precedent
This decision by an FMSHRC Administrative Law Judge became the final decision of the Commission 40 days after issuance because the Commission did not direct review (30 U.S.C. § 823(d)(1)). It binds the parties but is not binding on the Commission in other cases. 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

B and D Coal Company, Incorporated, operator of No. 7 Mine, faced a proposed civil penalty of $8,000. The parties jointly moved to approve a settlement, and Judge Avram Weisberger found the settlement appropriate under the Mine Act's penalty criteria. The judge approved the settlement, reducing the penalty to $4,000, payable within 30 days.

Decision snapshot

  • Governing provision: 30 U.S.C. § 820(i)
  • Outcome: The settlement was approved and a $4,000 penalty was ordered, reduced from the proposed $8,000.
  • Key point: The judge approved the negotiated penalty reduction after considering the statutory penalty criteria.

Full text (FMSHRC public release)

CCASE:
SOL (MSHA) V. B AND D COAL
DDATE:
19890417
TTEXT:

Page 2

~651
Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (F.M.S.H.R.C.) Office of Administrative Law Judges

SECRETARY OF LABOR,
CIVIL PENALTY PROCEEDING
MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH
ADMINISTRATION (MSHA),
Docket No. SE 88-53
PETITIONER
A. C. No. 40-02944-03513

v. No. 7 Mine

B AND D COAL COMPANY,
INCORPORATED,
RESPONDENT

DECISION

Appearances: Mary Sue Ray, Esq., Office of the Solicitor, U. S.
Department of Labor, Nashville, Tennessee, for the Secretary;
Bruce Anderson, Esq., McCampbell & Young, Knoxville, Tennessee, for the Respondent.

Before: Judge Weisberger

This case is before me upon a petition for assessment of civil penalty under Section 105(d) of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (the Act). Pursuant to Notice, this case was scheduled for hearing on March 29, 1989, in Knoxville, Tennessee. At the hearing, the Parties entered into settlement discussion and made a joint motion to approve settlement. A reduction in penalty from $8,000 to $4,000 is proposed. Based on the representation set forth in the stipulated facts filed on March 29, 1989, as well as the testimony and documentary evidence admitted on March 29, 1989, in support of the joint motion, I conclude that the proffered settlement is appropriate under the criteria set forth in Section 110(i) of the Act.

WHEREFORE, the motion for approval of settlement is GRANTED, and it is ORDERED that Respondent pay a penalty of $4,000 within 30 days of this order.

Avram Weisberger
Administrative Law Judge

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