Double Bonus Coal Company (Commission decision, March 19, 2009)

Plain-English summary

Double Bonus asked to reopen two penalty assessments that it said it never received. Evidence showed that one assessment was returned to MSHA as undeliverable and that the other was delivered to a neighboring mine. The Secretary did not oppose relief. The Commission concluded that the assessments had not become final orders, so it denied the reopening motions as moot and remanded the cases for further proceedings. It treated the motions as notices of contest and directed the Secretary to file penalty petitions within 45 days.

Decision snapshot

• Governing provisions: 29 C.F.R. §§ 2700.1(b), 2700.28 and 30 U.S.C. § 815(a)
• Outcome: The reopening motions were denied as moot, and both cases were remanded for further proceedings.
• Key point: Penalty assessments that the operator never received did not become final orders under the 30-day contest rule.

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

March 19, 2009

SECRETARY OF LABOR,

MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH

ADMINISTRATION (MSHA)

v.

DOUBLE BONUS COAL COMPANY

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

Docket No. WEVA 2009-810
A.C. No. 46-09020-164130

Docket No. WEVA 2009-811
A.C. No. 46-09020-167075

BEFORE: Duffy, 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. (2006) (“Mine Act”). On February 5, 2009, the Commission received motions seeking to reopen two penalty assessments issued to Double Bonus Coal Company (“Double Bonus”) that may have become final orders 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).

Double Bonus seeks reopening on the grounds that it never received the two assessment forms.

It submits evidence that Assessment No. 000164130 was returned undelivered to the Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration because of a supposedly wrong address. It also alleges that Assessment No. 000167075 was delivered to a neighboring mine and never received by Double Bonus. The Secretary of Labor states that, based on the circumstances alleged in the motions, she does not object to reopening the assessments.

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 mistake, inadvertence, or excusable neglect. 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 Double Bonus’ requests and the Secretary’s responses, we conclude that the proposed assessments at issue have not become final orders of the Commission. We deny Double Bonus’ motions as moot and remand this matter to the Chief Administrative Law Judge for further proceedings as appropriate, pursuant to the Mine Act and the Commission’s Procedural Rules, 29 C.F.R. Part 2700. See Lehigh Cement Co., 28 FMSHRC 440, 441 (July 2006). Because each motion specifies the individual penalties in the respective assessments that Double Bonus wishes to contest, those statements in the motions can serve as the operator’s notices of contest. Consequently, and consistent with Rule 28, the Secretary shall file petitions for assessment of penalty within 45 days of the date of this order. See 29 C.F.R. § 2700.28.

Michael F. Duffy, Chairman

Mary Lu Jordan, Commissioner

Michael G. Young, Commissioner

Robert F. Cohen, Jr., Commissioner

Distribution:

James F. Bowman

P.O. Box 99

Midway, WV 25878

W. Christian Schumann, Esq.

Office of the Solicitor

U.S. Department of Labor

1100 Wilson Blvd., Room 2220

Arlington, VA 22209-2296

Myra James, Chief

Office of Civil Penalty Compliance

MSHA

U.S. Dept. of Labor

1100 Wilson Blvd., 25th Floor

Arlington, VA 22209-3939

Chief Administrative Law Judge Robert J. Lesnick

Federal Mine Safety & Health Review Commission

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

Washington, D.C. 20001-2021