Secretary of Labor v. Varra Companies, Inc. (Commission decision, December 7, 2016)

Plain-English summary

Varra Companies failed to contest an MSHA penalty assessment within 30 days, causing the assessment to become a final Commission order. Varra said it mailed contests for several assessments at the same time and supplied certified-mail receipts dated October 28 and October 30, 2014. MSHA received the contests for the other cases but had no record of receiving the form for this assessment. The Secretary did not oppose reopening and confirmed that Varra contacted MSHA as soon as it received a delinquency notice, although he urged the company to ensure that future contests go to the correct address on time. Guided by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b), the Commission reopened the assessment in the interest of justice and remanded the case for merits proceedings, with the Secretary's penalty petition due within 45 days.

Decision snapshot

• Governing provisions: 30 U.S.C. § 815(a); 29 C.F.R. §§ 2700.1(b) and 2700.28
• Outcome: The final penalty assessment was reopened and the case was remanded to the Chief Administrative Law Judge for further proceedings.
• Key point: Certified-mail evidence and prompt action after a delinquency notice can support reopening when MSHA has no record of receiving a timely contest form.

Full text (FMSHRC public release)

FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND
HEALTH REVIEW COMMISSION

1331 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, NW, SUITE 520N

WASHINGTON, DC 20004-1710

SECRETARY
OF LABOR,                             :                                     

MINE
SAFETY AND HEALTH                    :                                                         

ADMINISTRATION
(MSHA)                       :       

:

:        Docket No. WEST 2015-311-M        

v.                                              
 :        A.C. No. 05-04643-364815

:                   

VARRA
COMPANIES, INC.                          :

BEFORE:
Jordan, Chairman; Young, Cohen, and Althen, 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. (2012) (“Mine Act”). On January 21, 2015, the Commission received from Varra Companies, Inc. (“ Varra ”) a motion 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).

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 orders, the Commission has found guidance in Rule 60(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, under which the Commission may relieve a party from a final order of the Commission on the basis of mistake, inadvertence, excusable neglect, or other reason justifying relief. 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).

Records
of the Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (“MSHA”) demonstrate that the proposed assessment was delivered on October 23, 2014, and became a final order of the Commission on November 24, 2014. The operator claims that it contested several proposed assessments at once, including the one in question, and that MSHA received the contest of the other cases. The operator provides certified mail receipts for October 28, 2014 and October 30, 2014, which were the dates that the operator mailed in the contest forms. The operator asserts that it contacted MSHA as soon as it received a delinquency notice sent on January 7, 2014. The Secretary does not oppose the request to reopen, and confirms that Varra contacted MSHA as soon as it received the delinquency notice . However, the Secretary notes that there is no record that the contest form was ever received by MSHA. The Secretary urges Varra to ensure that contests to future penalty assessments are mailed to the appropriate address in a timely manner.

Having
reviewed Varra’s request and the Secretary’s response, in the interest of justice, we hereby reopen this matter and remand it to the Chief Administrative Law Judge for further proceedings pursuant to the Mine Act and the Commission’s Procedural Rules, 29 C.F.R. Part 2700. Accordingly, consistent with Rule 28, the Secretary shall file a petition for assessment of penalty within 45 days of the date of this order. See 29 C.F.R. § 2700.28.

/s/ Mary Lu
Jordan

Mary Lu Jordan, Chairman

/s/ Michael G.
Young

Michael G. Young,
Commissioner

/s/ Robert F.
Cohen, Jr.

Robert F. Cohen,
Jr., Commissioner

/s/ William I.
Althen

William I.
Althen, Commissioner

Distribution:

Vickie
Archuleta

HR/Payroll
Manager/Safety

Varra
Companies

8120
Gage Street

Frederick,
CO 80516

W.
Christian Schumann, Esq.

Office
of the Solicitor

U.S.
Department of Labor

201
12th St. South, Suite 500

Arlington,
VA 22202-5450

Chief
Administrative Law Judge Robert J. Lesnick

Federal
Mine Safety & Health Review Commission

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

Washington,
DC 20004-1710

Melanie
Garris

Office
of Civil Penalty Compliance

Mine
Safety and Health Administration

U.S.
Department of Labor

201
12th St. South, Suite 500

Arlington,
VA 22202-5450