Secretary of Labor v. Pedrotti Materials, LLC (Commission decision, July 13, 2021)

Plain-English summary

Pedrotti Materials did not receive a proposed penalty assessment because MSHA mailed it to the wrong address. The Secretary confirmed the agency's addressing error. The Commission held that the assessment never became final because the operator had not received it, so Rule 60 reopening relief was unnecessary. It declared the reopening motion moot and remanded the case for further proceedings.

Decision snapshot

• Cited authority: 30 U.S.C. § 815(a)
• Outcome: The reopening motion was declared moot and the case was remanded.
• Key point: A proposed assessment mailed to the wrong address did not start the 30-day contest period or become a final Commission order.

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.

PEDROTTI
MATERIALS, LLC

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Docket
No. WEST 2020-0275-M

A.C.
No. 04-05724-505659

BEFORE:  Traynor,
Chair; Althen and Rajkovich, Commissioners

ORDER

BY THE COMMISSION:

This proceeding arises under the Federal
Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, 30 U.S.C.

§
801 et seq. (2018) (“Mine Act”). On May 12, 2020, Pedrotti Materials, LLC filed a motion seeking to reopen a penalty assessment under section 105(a) of the Mine Act, 30 U.S.C. § 815(a), that had appeared to become a final order of the Commission.

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).

Pedrotti asserts that it never received
the proposed penalty assessment at issue because the Secretary mailed it to the wrong address. The Secretary confirms that his Mine Safety and Health Administration erroneously mailed the proposed assessment to an incorrect address.

Having reviewed Pedrotti’s request and the
Secretary's response, we conclude that the proposed penalty assessment did not become a final order of the Commission because the operator never received the proposed assessment. This obviates any need to invoke Rule 60(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure in order to consider reopening a final order.

Accordingly, the operator's motion to
reopen is moot, and this case is remanded 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.

/s/ Arthur R. Traynor, III

Arthur R. Traynor, III, Chair

/s/ William I. Althen

William I. Althen, Commissioner

/s/ Marco M. Rajkovich, Jr.

Marco M. Rajkovich, Jr., Commissioner

Distribution:

Jason Pedrotti

Pedrotti
Materials, LLC

P.O. Box 994283

Redding, CA  96099

[email protected]

John
M. McCracken, Esq.

Office
of the Solicitor

U.S.
Department of Labor

Mine
Safety and Health Division

201
12th Street South, Suite 401

Arlington,
VA 22202-5452

[email protected]

Archith
Ramkumar, Esq.

Office
of the Solicitor

U.S.
Department of Labor

201
12th Street South, Suite 401

Arlington,
VA 22202

[email protected]

April
Nelson, Esq.

Office
of the Solicitor

U.S.
Department of Labor

Mine
Safety and Health Division

201
12th Street South, Suite 401

Arlington,
VA 22202-5452

[email protected]

Melanie
Garris

U.S.
Department of Labor

Office
of Civil Penalty Compliance

Mine
Safety and Health Administration

201
12th Street South, Suite 401

Arlington,
VA 22202-5452

[email protected]

Chief
Administrative Law Judge Glenn Voisin

Federal
Mine Safety & Health Review Commission

1331
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 520N

Washington,
DC 20004-1710

[email protected]