Eastern Ridge Lime Company, L.P. (ALJ decision, July 15, 1998)

Plain-English summary

Eastern Ridge Lime's case returned to the ALJ after the Commission and the Fourth Circuit directed further analysis of the penalties for two cited violations. Judge Avram Weisberger found that the violations contributed to a fatal roof fall, that the company's aggravated negligence remained the proper assessment, and that no specific causation finding was required to set the penalty. He ordered the company to pay a total civil penalty of $85,000 for the order and citation.

Decision snapshot

• Cited standards: Not restated in this remand decision
• Outcome: The previously assessed total civil penalty of $85,000 was reaffirmed.
• Key point: The judge held that penalty gravity could be based on the violation's contribution to a fatal roof fall without a separate finding that the violation caused the accident.

Full text (FMSHRC public release)

FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH REVIEW COMMISSION

OFFICE OF A D M INISTRA TIV E LA W JUDGES 2 SK YLINE, 10 th FLOOR
5203 LEESBURG PIK E
FA LLS CHURCH, V IRGINIA 22041

July 15, 1998

SECRETARY OF LABOR, : CIVIL PENALTY PROCEEDING
MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH
:
ADMINISTRATION (MSHA), : Docket No. VA 96-21-M
Petitioner : A. C. No. 44-00040-05559
v. :
: Eastern Ridge Lime Company, L P
EASTERN RIDGE LIME COMPANY, L P,
:
Respondent
:

DECISION ON REMAND

Before: Judge Weisberger

This matter is before me based on a remand order issued by the Commission on July 2, 1998, for further consideration consistent with the decision in the case issued by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (Eastern Ridge Lime, L P v. FMSHRC No. 97-1579 (4th Cir. April 13, 1998). In its decision, the Courts of Appeals remanded Afor further fact finding and analysis of the penalties to be assessed@ (slip op. at 7).

In order to clarify my previous decision, (19 FMSHRC 398 (February 1997)), and upon reconsideration , I find that, in assessing a penalty, and evaluating the level of gravity of the cited violations, it is not necessary to make a specific finding of causation. The high level of gravity is based on the fact that the violation contributed to a fatal roof fall. Further, in evaluating a penalty, I place most weight on my finding that, for the reasons discussed in the original decision, the level of Respondent=s negligence constituted aggravated conduct. Specifically, the record establishes that Respondent repeatedly ignored the warnings of its workers regarding observed unsafe conditions. Accordingly, I reiterate my initial findings regarding the penalty to be assessed.

It is ORDERED the Respondent shall pay a total civil penalty of $85,000 for the violations cited in Order No. 4289773 and Citation No. 4389772.

Avram Weisberger
Administrative Law Judge

Distribution:

Yoora Kim, Esq., Office of the Solicitor, U. S. Department of Labor, 4015 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 420, Arlington, VA 22203 (Certified Mail)

Thomas B. Weaver, Esq., John F. Cowling, Esq., Armstrong, Teasdale, Schlafy & Davis, One Metropolitan Square, Suite 2600, St. Louis, MO 63102-2740

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