Secretary of Labor v. The Harrison County Coal Company (ALJ decision, March 31, 2020)

Secretary of Labor v. The Harrison County Coal Company (FMSHRC WEVA 2020-203): Settlement approved for 101-citation docket

Decision type

ALJ decision

Docket

WEVA 2020-203

Decided

March 31, 2020

Presiding judge

Thomas P. McCarthy

Outcome

Settled

Precedential status

Final order, not precedent

Checked against source

2026-07-31

Cited standards

30 U.S.C. § 815(d) 30 U.S.C. § 820(i)

Official source

Read the official release (fmshrc.gov)

PDF

View Official PDF

Apply this to your situation

This order from 2020 bound only the parties to this case; it isn't precedent. Ask about your situation and see what the current MSHA standards and Commission precedent say, with citations.

Final order, not Commission precedent

This decision by a FMSHRC Administrative Law Judge became the final decision of the Commission 40 days after issuance because the Commission did not direct review (30 U.S.C. § 823(d)(1)). It binds the parties but is not binding on the Commission in other cases. 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 agency's own release.

Read the official release (fmshrc.gov)

Plain-English summary

The Harrison County Coal Company and the Secretary proposed resolving a 101-citation penalty docket while the operator's parent company was in Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The Secretary vacated three citations, reduced the negligence finding for Citation No. 9186420 from moderate to low, and reduced the penalty for Citation No. 9186521 based on disputed gravity and negligence. Judge Thomas McCarthy explained that Mine Act penalty proceedings may continue under the bankruptcy exception for government police and regulatory actions, although collection of a money judgment must proceed through the bankruptcy court. He found the settlement fair, reasonable, consistent with the public interest, and appropriate under the Mine Act penalty criteria. The order reduced total penalties from $59,978 to $58,109 and required payment under the settlement terms.

Decision snapshot

Cited authority: 30 U.S.C. § 815(d); 30 U.S.C. § 820(i)
Outcome: The settlement was approved, three citations were vacated, one negligence finding was reduced, and total penalties were set at $58,109.
Key point: Bankruptcy did not stop the Mine Act penalty case, but enforcement of the resulting money judgment remained subject to the bankruptcy process.

Full text (FMSHRC public release)

FEDERAL MINE
SAFETY AND HEALTH REVIEW COMMISSION

OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGES

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

WASHINGTON, DC 20004-1710

TELEPHONE: 202-434-9900 / FAX: 202-434-9949

SECRETARY
OF LABOR

MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH

ADMINISTRATION (MSHA),

Petitioner

THE
HARRISON COUNTY COAL

COMPANY,

Respondent

CIVIL
PENALTY PROCEEDING

Docket
No. WEVA 2020-0203

A.C.
No. 46-01318-505388

Mine:
Harrison County Mine

ORDER ACCEPTING APPEARANCE

DECISION APPROVING SETTLEMENT

ORDER TO MODIFY

ORDER TO PAY

Before: Judge
McCarthy

This
case is before the undersigned upon a 101-citation Petition for the Assessment of Civil Penalty under section 105(d) of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, 30 U.S.C. § 815(d). This docket was created prior to the policy of splitting dockets with excessive amounts of citations. Under the current policy, this docket would not have been accepted in its current, voluminous state.

The
Secretary of Labor’s Conference and Litigation Representative (“CLR”) filed a notice of limited appearance with the penalty petition. It is ORDERED that the CLR be accepted to represent the Secretary. Cyprus Emerald Res. Corp. , 16 FMSHRC 2359 (Nov. 1994).

The
CLR has filed a motion to approve settlement proposing a reduction in the penalties from $59,978.00 to $58,109.00. The CLR states that Citations No. 9185453, 9186421, and 9187211 have been vacated. The Secretary’s discretion to vacate a citation or order is not subject to review. E.g. , RBK Constr. Inc. , 15 FMSHRC 2099 (Oct. 1993). Citation No. 9186521 remains unchanged, but the CLR justifies the reduction in penalty by stating there is a legitimate factual and legal dispute regarding gravity and negligence. The CLR also requests that Citation No. 9186420 be modified to reduce the level of negligence from moderate to low.

The
Respondent’s parent company, Murray Energy Holdings Co., filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection on October 29, 2019, in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Ohio, In re Murray Energy Holdings Co., Case No. 19-56885. As stated in the settlement motion, some of the citations in this docket are subject to the bankruptcy proceeding, while other citations are not. As stated below, the Respondent will pay the citations in accordance with terms of the settlement agreement.

Section
362(a) of the Bankruptcy Code provides for an automatic stay of the commencement or continuation of any administrative or judicial proceedings against a Chapter 11 Bankruptcy petitioner. 11 U.S.C. § 362(a). An exception to this stay, however, is granted by §362(b)(4), which exempts from the automatic stay any proceeding by a governmental unit to enforce its police or regulatory power. 11 U.S.C. §362(b)(4). This exception has been applied to cases seeking equitable relief and cases concerning monetary damages or penalties. See In re Commerce Oil Co., 847 F.2d 291, 297 (6th Cir. 1988); United States v. Nicolet, Inc., 857 F.2d 202, 208-10 (3d Cir. 1988); U.S. v. Oil Transport Co., Inc. , 172 B.R. 834 (Bankr. E.D. La. 1994); U.S. v. Energy Intern,, Inc., 19 B.R. 1020 (Bankr. S.D. Ohio 1981) (holding that action by the United States to collect a civil penalty assessed by the Department of the Interior, Office of Surface Mining, against debtor, for numerous violations of Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, was one to enforce its regulatory power and thus not stayed by the debtor's filing of a bankruptcy petition)).

The
Commission has held that the Secretary of Labor, Department of Labor, and MSHA are “government units” within the meaning of 362(b)(4), as the Secretary of Labor brings civil penalty proceedings in an effort to effectuate and enforce the mandatory safety standards of the Mine Act. Big Laurel Mining Corp., 37 FMSHRC 1997, 1997-99 (Sept. 2015); Hidden Splendor Res., Inc., 35 FMSHRC 1548, 1549-50 (June 2013); Hoist Excavating, Inc.¸ 17 FMSHRC 101, 102 (Feb. 1995); Jim Walter Res., Inc., 12 FMSHRC 1521, 1530 (Aug. 1990).

Although
the entry of a money judgment by a governmental unit, if related to its police or regulatory powers, is not affected by the automatic stay, actual enforcement of such judgment must take place through the bankruptcy court. In re Weller , 189 B.R. 467, 471 (Bankr. E.D. Wis. 1995); NLRB v. Continental Hagen Corp., 932 F.2d 828, 834 (9th Cir.1991); NLRB v. P.I.E. Nationwide, Inc., 923 F.2d 506 (7th Cir.1991); Eddleman v. U.S. Dept. of Labor, 923 F.2d 782 (10th Cir.1991); In re Tauscher , 7 B.R. 918 (Bankr. E.D. Wis. 1981).

The
undersigned considered the representations and documentation submitted in this case, and the undersigned concludes that the proffered settlement is fair, reasonable, appropriate under the facts, and protects the public interest under The American Coal Co. , 38 FMSHRC 1972, 1976 (Aug. 2016), and is appropriate under the criteria set forth in § 110(i) of the Act. The settlement amounts are as follows:

Citation No.

Assessment

Settlement

Citation No.

Assessment

Settlement

9185453

$654.00

$0.00

9185713

$344.00

9185454

$514.00

9185714

$2,550.00

9185455

$514.00

9185715

$121.00

9185456

$405.00

9186425

$154.00

9185457

$230.00

9186426

$558.00

9185979

$372.00

9186427

$319.00

9185458

$214.00

9186428

$121.00

9185459

$214.00

9186429

$250.00

9185706

$250.00

9186430

$1,345.00

9186408

$604.00

9189333

$154.00

9186409

$372.00

9189334

$474.00

9186410

$405.00

9186431

$604.00

9186411

$121.00

9189336

$121.00

9186412

$142.00

9185716

$214.00

9186413

$558.00

9186434

$2,993.00

9189323

$474.00

9186435

$2,353.00

9185707

$121.00

9186436

$344.00

9186414

$121.00

9186437

$121.00

9186415

$474.00

9186438

$474.00

9186416

$474.00

9186439

$474.00

9186417

$250.00

9185717

$181.00

9186418

$1,852.00

9185718

$214.00

9186419

$2,763.00

9185719

$372.00

9189324

$474.00

9186520

$405.00

9189325

$121.00

9186521

$1,057.00

$688.00

9189326

$708.00

9186522

$604.00

9189327

$270.00

9182135

$250.00

9185708

$832.00

9182136

$121.00

9185709

$6,148.00

9186523

$121.00

9186420

$405.00

$181.00

9186524

$121.00

9186421

$250.00

$0.00

9186525

$121.00

9186422

$902.00

9189342

$604.00

9186423

$832.00

9189343

$372.00

9185710

$121.00

9186480

$604.00

9185711

$2,763.00

9186527

$1,345.00

9186424

$181.00

9186528

$181.00

9189331

$121.00

9186529

$154.00

9189332

$250.00

9186530

$154.00

9185712

$604.00

9186532

$250.00

Citation No.

Assessment

Settlement

Citation No.

Assessment

Settlement

9186533

$214.00

9186484

$2,550.00

9186481

$1,345.00

9186538

$832.00

9186535

$474.00

9186539

$168.00

9187211

$372.00

$0.00

9186540

$319.00

9187212

$474.00

9186541

$121.00

9186482

$604.00

9189350

$372.00

9189345

$372.00

9189351

$474.00

9189346

$372.00

9189352

$121.00

9189347

$121.00

9189353

$121.00

9189348

$1,242.00

9186545

$270.00

9189349

$121.00

9189354

$250.00

9186483

$270.00

TOTAL

$59,978.00

$58,109.00

WHEREFORE ,
the motion for approval of settlement is GRANTED .

It is ORDERED that Citation No.
9186420 be MODIFIED to reduce the level of negligence from moderate to low.

It
is further ORDERED that the operator pay a total penalty of $58,109.00 pursuant to the terms of the settlement agreement. 1

/s/ Thomas P. McCarthy

Thomas P. McCarthy

Administrative Law Judge

Distribution:

Chris
A. Weaver

U.S.
Department of Labor

MSHA
604 Cheat Road

Morgantown,
WV 26508

Wm.
Allen McGilton

Murray
Energy Corporation

46226
National Road

St.
Clairsville, OH 43950

/ztb

1
Payment should be sent to: Pay.gov, a service of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, at https://www.pay.gov/public/form/start/67564508 or, alternately, Mine Safety & Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, Payment Office, P.O. Box 790390, St. Louis, MO 63179-0390.

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