FMSHRC Commission decision Docket WEVA 2014-82-R, et al. Decided February 6, 2014 Procedural

Brody Mining, LLC v. Secretary of Labor, MSHA

Brody Mining, LLC v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC WEVA 2014-82-R, et al.): Interlocutory review granted on pattern rule

Apply this precedent to your situation

This is citable Commission precedent from 2014, and it may have been appealed since. Ezel checks how it stands today and answers your situation, with citations.

Currency note: this decision dates from 2014
The MSHA standards may have been amended, penalty amounts have been adjusted, and later Commission or court decisions may have changed the analysis since then. Treat this page as historical context, not current compliance advice. Verify the current standard before relying on any specific rule, threshold, or penalty mentioned here.
Decision of the Commission
This is a decision of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission, the highest level of agency review, citable as Commission precedent. It may have been appealed to a U.S. Court of Appeals after issuance under 30 U.S.C. § 816; check subsequent history before relying on it. The full text below is from the official FMSHRC release.
About this page: The plain-English summary and decision snapshot below were written by Ezel based on the official FMSHRC release. The full text is the Commission's own document.
Read the official release (fmshrc.gov)

Plain-English summary

The Chief Administrative Law Judge certified questions concerning MSHA's 2013 pattern-of-violations rule for immediate Commission review. The Commission agreed that the issues involved controlling questions of law and that immediate review could materially advance the cases. It granted review of whether the rule was valid on its face and as applied, whether MSHA's screening criteria required notice-and-comment rulemaking, and whether the agency applied the rule retroactively. The Commission also directed the parties to address whether it had jurisdiction to decide those regulatory-validity questions. Brody's separate petition for interlocutory review was denied as moot.

Decision snapshot

  • Governing provisions: 29 C.F.R. § 2700.76(a) and 30 C.F.R. § 104
  • Outcome: Interlocutory review was granted on three pattern-of-violations issues, and Brody's separate petition was denied as moot.
  • Key point: The Commission may take immediate review when a certified regulatory question controls the case and early resolution can materially advance the proceeding.

Full text (FMSHRC public release)

FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH REVIEW
COMMISSION

1331
PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, NW, SUITE 520N

WASHINGTON,
D.C. 20004‑1710

�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������

February
6, 2014

BRODY MINING, LLC

��������� �

������� v.

SECRETARY OF LABOR,

MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH

ADMINISTRATION (MSHA)

������� �Docket Nos. WEVA
2014-82-R et al.

����������� ��������������� ����������������������������������������������������������� ����������������������� ����

����������������������������������������������������������������������������� ����

ORDER

These matters arise under the
Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, 30 U.S.C. § 801 et seq. (2012). On January 30, 2014,
Chief Administrative Law Judge Robert J. Lesnick issued a Certification of
Interlocutory Ruling pursuant to Commission Procedural Rule 76, 29 C.F.R. § 2700.76(a)(1)(i). In his
order, the Judge certified for interlocutory review by the Commission his
ruling that the Secretary of Labor’s
pattern of violations regulation is valid and was not applied to Brody Mining,
LLC in an impermissibly retroactive manner. Unpublished Order at 3-4 (Jan. 30,
2014).

Commission Procedural Rule 76(a)
provides that interlocutory review is a matter of sound discretion of the
Commission, and that the Commission may grant interlocutory review upon a
determination that the Judge’s
interlocutory ruling involves a controlling question of law and immediate
review will materially advance the final disposition of the proceeding. 29
C.F.R.

§
2700.76(a).

Upon consideration of the Judge’s certification, we hereby
grant review of the Judge’s
order of January 30, 2014, with regard to: (1) whether the Secretary’s pattern of violations
rule, 30 C.F.R. § 104,
promulgated at 78 Fed. Reg. 5056, and effective March 25, 2013, is valid on its
face and as applied in these proceedings; (2) whether the Mine Safety and
Health Administration’s
pattern of violations screening criteria are invalid because notice and comment
rulemaking was required; and (3) whether MSHA impermissibly applied the pattern
of violations rule retroactively.

Brody’s
opening brief is due to be filed within 30 days of the date of this order, and
remaining briefs shall be filed in accordance with the Commission’s Procedural Rules, 29
C.F.R

§
2700.75. In their briefs, the parties should address, among other issues, the
question of whether the Commission has jurisdiction to rule upon the validity
of the regulations referenced above.

The petition for interlocutory
review filed by the operator is denied as moot.���������

/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/ Patrick K. Nakamura����������������
������������������������������� �����������������������������������������������

Patrick K. Nakamura, Commissioner

�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������

/s/ William I. Althen������������������
�

William I. Althen, Commissioner

Distribution

R. Henry Moore, Esq.

Jackson Kelly, PLLC

Three Gateway Center, Suite 1340

401 Liberty Avenue

Pittsburgh, PA 15222

Michael T. Cimino, Esq.

Jackson Kelly, PLLC

1600 Laidley Tower

P.O. Box 553

Charleston, WV 25322

Benjamin M. McFarlane, Esq.

Jackson Kelly, PLLC

1144 Market Street

Wheeling, WV 26003

Robert S. Wilson, Esq.

Office of the Solicitor

U.S. Department of Labor

1100 Wilson Blvd., 22 Floor West

Arlington, VA 22209‑3939

Jason Grover, Esq.

Office of the Solicitor

U.S. Department of Labor

1100 Wilson Blvd., Room 2226

Arlington, VA 22209‑2296

W. Christian Schumann, Esq.

Office of the Solicitor

U.S. Department of Labor

1100 Wilson Blvd., Room 2220

Arlington, VA� 22209-2296

Chief Administrative Law Judge Robert J. Lesnick

Federal Mine Safety & Health Review Commission

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

Washington, D.C. 20004-1710

Get today's answer for your situation

You just read Commission precedent from 2014. Ezel checks whether it still stands, including any court review since, and answers your specific situation, with citations.

Opens in Ezel Pro. Every answer cites the authority it relies on.