Riverton Investment Corporation (Commission decision, November 15, 2012)

Plain-English summary

Two proposed penalty assessments became final Commission orders in September and October 2010 after Riverton Investment Corporation did not timely contest them. Riverton did not file its motions to reopen until February 2012. The Commission applied the one-year limit for relief based on mistake, inadvertence, or excusable neglect under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b). Because both motions were filed more than one year after the assessments became final, the Commission denied them with prejudice.

Decision snapshot

• Cited provisions: 29 C.F.R. § 2700.1(b); 30 U.S.C. § 815(a)
• Outcome: Both motions to reopen were denied with prejudice as untimely.
• Key point: A reopening request based on mistake or excusable neglect must be filed no more than one year after the assessment becomes final.

Full text (FMSHRC public release)

Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission

FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH REVIEW COMMISSION

1331 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, NW, SUITE 520N

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20004-1710

November 15, 2012

SECRETARY OF LABOR, 

MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH 

ADMINISTRATION (MSHA) 

v.

RIVERTON INVESTMENT CORPORATION

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Docket No. VA 2012-234-M

A.C. No. 44-00101-229221

Docket No. VA 2012-235-M

A.C. No. 44-00101-232377

BEFORE: Jordan, Chairman; Young and Nakamura, Commissioners

ORDER

BY THE COMMISSION:

These matters arise under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, 30 U.S.C.
§ 801 et seq. (2006) (“Mine Act”). On February 10, 2012, the Commission received from Riverton Investment Corporation (“Riverton”) two motions seeking to reopen two penalty assessments that had become final orders 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 section 105(a) orders, the Commission has found guidance in Rule 60(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure under which, for example, a party could be entitled to relief from a final order of the Commission on the basis of mistake, inadvertence, or excusable neglect. 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).

The record indicates that proposed assessment No. 000229221 was delivered on August 24, 2010, signed for by D. Snider, and became a final order of the Commission on September 23, 2010. Proposed assessment No. 000232377 was delivered on September 15, 2010, signed for by D. Snider, and became a final order of the Commission on October 15, 2010. Both notices of delinquency were mailed on February 15, 2011, and the cases were referred to the U.S. Department of Treasury for collection on April 14, 2011.

Under Rule 60(b), a motion shall be made within a reasonable time, and for reasons of mistake, inadvertence, or excusable neglect under subsections (1), (2), and (3) of the rule, not more than one year after the judgment, order, or proceeding was entered or taken. Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b). These motions to reopen were filed more than one year after becoming final orders. Therefore, Riverton’s motions are untimely. J S Sand & Gravel, Inc., 26 FMSHRC 795, 796 (Oct. 2004).

Accordingly, we deny its motions with prejudice.

/s/ Mary Lu Jordan

Mary Lu Jordan, Chair

/s/Michael G. Young

Michael G. Young, Commissioner

/s/ Patrick K. Nakamura

Patrick K. Nakamura, Commissioner

Distribution:

Danny Lowe, CMSP

Riverton Investment Corp.

1826 South Queen St.

Martinsburg, WV 25402

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

1331 Pennsylvania Avenue, N. W., Suite 520N

Washington, D.C. 20004