Jim Walter Resources, Inc.

Plain-English summary

Jim Walter Resources submitted a notice of contest and motion seeking partial relief from final orders in closed penalty cases. The motion argued that some penalties had relied on an MSHA policy letter that the Commission had recently found had no legal weight or effect. The Commission accepted the parties' papers for administrative filing under a special docket, without deciding whether it had jurisdiction or ruling on the underlying issues. It granted the American Mining Congress permission to participate as amicus and granted the Secretary an extension until July 27, 1992, to file an opposition statement.

Decision snapshot

• Cited standard(s): None stated in the decision.
• Outcome: The amicus motion and the Secretary's motion for more time were granted; the Commission did not decide the underlying motion.
• Key point: Assigning a special docket and accepting papers for filing did not determine jurisdiction or the merits.

Full text (FMSHRC public release)

CCASE:
JIM WALTER RESOURCES V. MSHA
DDATE:
19920702
TTEXT:
July 2, 1992
JIM WALTER RESOURCES, INC.

v. Docket No. SPECIAL 92-01

SECRETARY OF LABOR,
MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH
ADMINISTRATION (MSHA)

ORDER
On June 25, 1992, counsel for Jim Walter Resources, Inc. ("JWR"),
submitted for filing with the Commission's Office of Administrative Law
Judges a document entitled "Notice of Contest and Motion for Partial Relief
from Final Order." A corrected cover page to the motion, submitted on June
26, 1992, makes clear that the motion is intended to be lodged with the
Commission itself. Essentially, the motion seeks to reopen an unspecified
number of uncontested and closed cases in which JWR paid civil penalties
proposed by the Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration
("MSHA"). The asserted grounds for relief are that the penalties were
proposed, in part, on the basis of MSHA's Program Policy Letter No. P90-III-4
(May 29, 1990), which the Commission concluded could be "accorded no legal
weight or effect" in Drummond Co., 14 FMSHRC 661, 690 (May 1992), and
related
cases.
Subsequent to JWR's submission, the American Mining Congress ("AMC")
submitted a motion to participate in this matter as an amicus curiae on the
side of JWR. Counsel for the Secretary of Labor then submitted an unopposed
motion requesting an enlargement of time in which to file a statement in
opposition to JWR's motion.
For administrative purposes only, this matter, which involves unique
issues possibly affecting a large number of closed penalty matters, will be
assigned the docket reference "No. Special 92-01." The parties' various
papers are hereby accepted for filing under that docket number. The
assignment of a docket number and acceptance for filing does not mean, nor is
meant to suggest, that the Commission has determined that it possesses
jurisdiction in this matter or is thereby ruling on any issues raised in the
parties' papers.
The Commission has determined administratively that counsel for the
Secretary of Labor has no objection to the AMC's amicus participation. The
AMC's motion adequately sets forth the basis of its interest in this matter
and why its participation would be desirable. Cf. Fed. R. App. P. 29. Upon

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consideration of the AMC's motion, it is granted and the AMC is hereby
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permitted to participate as amicus in this proceeding.
Upon consideration of the Secretary's motion for enlargement of time,
it is granted and the Secretary has until July 27, 1992, to file her
statement of opposition in this matter.
For the Commission:
Ford B. Ford
Chairman