Fann Contracting, Inc. (Commission decision, April 5, 2007)

Plain-English summary

Fann Contracting asked the Commission to reopen a penalty assessment that had become final. The company said it received the assessment on June 26, 2006, mailed its contest on July 24, and MSHA received it on July 26, but no hearing followed. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. The Commission remanded for the chief administrative law judge to determine whether the contest was timely and, if not, whether good cause supported relief from the final order.

Decision snapshot

• Governing provisions: 29 C.F.R. § 2700.1(b); 30 U.S.C. § 815(a)
• Outcome: The reopening request was remanded for findings on timeliness and, if necessary, good cause.
• Key point: When an operator claims MSHA received a timely penalty contest, the filing history must be resolved before the final assessment remains in force.

Full text (FMSHRC public release)

Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission

FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH REVIEW COMMISSION

601 NEW JERSEY AVENUE, NW

SUITE 9500

WASHINGTON, DC 20001

April 5, 2007

SECRETARY OF LABOR,

MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH

ADMINISTRATION (MSHA)

v.

FANN CONTRACTING, INC.

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Docket No. WEST 2007-283-M
A.C. No. 02-03016-91269

BEFORE: Duffy, Chairman; Jordan and Young, Commissioners

ORDER

BY THE COMMISSION:

This matter arises under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, 30 U.S.C.
§ 801 et seq. (2000) (“Mine Act”). On March 14, 2007, the Commission received from Fann Contracting, Inc. (“Fann”) a letter by counsel seeking to reopen a penalty assessment that had become a final order 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).

Fann states that it received a proposed penalty assessment on June 26, 2006. It asserts that on July 24, 2006, it timely sent its contest of the proposed penalty assessment to the Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (“MSHA”). Fann contends that, although MSHA received its contest on July 26, the operator was not granted a hearing on the contested proposed penalties. The Secretary of Labor states that she does not oppose Fann’s request to reopen the penalty assessment.

We have held 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 inadvertence or mistake. 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).

Having reviewed Fann’s request, in the interests of justice, we remand this matter to the Chief Administrative Law Judge for a determination of whether Fann timely contested the penalty proposal and, if not, whether good cause exists for granting relief from the final order. If it is determined that such relief is appropriate, this case shall proceed pursuant to the Mine Act and the Commission’s Procedural Rules, 29 C.F.R. Part 2700.

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Michael F. Duffy, Chairman

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Mary Lu Jordan, Commissioner

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Michael G. Young, Commissioner

Distribution

Tophas Anderson, IV, Esq.

Jennings, Haug & Cunningham, LLP

2800 North Avenue, Suite 1800

Phoenix, AZ 85004-1049

W. Christian Schumann, Esq.

Office of the Solicitor

U.S. Department of Labor

1100 Wilson Blvd., 22nd Floor

Arlington, VA 22209

Myra James, Chief

Office of Civil Penalty, MSHA

U.S. Department of Labor

1100 Wilson Blvd., 25th Floor

Arlington, VA 22209

Chief Administrative Law Judge Robert J. Lesnick

Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission

601 New Jersey Avenue, N.W., Suite 9500

Washington, D.C. 20001