Secretary of Labor v. The Silver Queen Mine LLC (Commission decision, March 6, 2017)

Plain-English summary

The Silver Queen Mine asked to reopen a penalty assessment more than one year after it became a final Commission order. The operator attributed the missed contest to limited MSHA experience, the cost of professional help, and a misunderstanding about how repeated violations affect later penalties. The Secretary opposed reopening because Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(c) limits mistake or excusable-neglect motions to one year. The Commission held that Silver Queen's motion was untimely and denied it.

Decision snapshot

• Cited authority: 30 U.S.C. § 815(a); Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 60(b) and 60(c)
• Outcome: The motion to reopen was denied as untimely.
• Key point: A motion based on mistake, inadvertence, or excusable neglect cannot reopen a Mine Act penalty order more than one year after finality.

Full text (FMSHRC public release)

FEDERAL
MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH REVIEW COMMISSION

1331
PENNSYLVANIA AVE., N.W., SUITE 520N

WASHINGTON,
DC 20004-1710

SECRETARY
OF LABOR,

MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH  

ADMINISTRATION (MSHA)         

v.

THE
SILVER QUEEN MINE LLC

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Docket
No. WEST 2016-56-M

A.C.
No. 02-03312-357676

BEFORE:    Althen,
Acting Chairman; Jordan, Young, and Cohen, 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 October 19, 2015, the Commission received from The Silver Queen Mine LLC (“Silver Queen”) 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.

Further, Rule 60(c) of the Federal Rules
of Civil Procedure provides that a Rule 60(b) motion shall be made within a reasonable time, and for reasons of mistake, inadvertence, or excusable neglect, not more than one year after the judgment, order, or proceeding was entered or taken.  Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(c).

The Secretary opposes the request to
reopen, and argues that the motion to reopen was filed out of time, over a year after the assessment became a final order.  Records of the Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (“MSHA”) indicate that the proposed assessment was delivered on August 9, 2014, and became a final order of the Commission on September 8, 2014.

In its motion to reopen, Silver Queen
asserts that it has very little experience with MSHA, and that it is financially prohibitive to hire a lawyer or safety consultant.  Silver Queen claims that the delay was due to its lack of understanding of the contest procedure, and also because the operator did not understand that subsequent violations of the same standard would result in substantially increased penalties.  Essentially, Silver Queen claims that its failure to contest the proposed assessment was excusable neglect.  However, the operator’s motion to reopen was filed more than one year after becoming a final order.  Therefore, under Rule 60(c), Silver Queen’s motion is untimely.  J S Sand & Gravel, Inc. , 26 FMSHRC 795, 796 (Oct. 2004).  Accordingly, we deny Silver Queen’s motion.

/s/ William I. Althen

William I. Althen, Acting Chairman

/s/ Mary Lu Jordan

Mary Lu Jordan, Commissioner

/s/ Michael G. Young

Michael G. Young, Commissioner

/s/ Robert F. Cohen, Jr.

Robert F. Cohen, Jr., Commissioner

Distribution:

John
Emmett

Owner

The
Silver Queen Mine LLC

1477
Menlo Avenue

Clovis,
CA 93611

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