Secretary of Labor v. County Line Stone Co., Inc., et al. (Commission decision, July 29, 2022)

Plain-English summary

The Secretary sought interlocutory review in three cases after the judge questioned settlement proposals that included vacating citations. The judge had asked whether each vacatur was independent of the compromise of other citations, and the Secretary instead sought certification of the legal issue for Commission review. Although the judge denied certification, he had not yet granted or denied the settlement motions themselves. The Commission found the petition premature because there was no interlocutory ruling on the settlements to review. It denied the petition without prejudice, leaving the Secretary free to raise the issue after an appropriate ruling.

Decision snapshot

• Cited authority: 30 U.S.C. § 820(k); 29 C.F.R. § 2700.76
• Outcome: The petition for interlocutory review was denied without prejudice as premature.
• Key point: The Commission would not review an anticipated settlement ruling before the judge actually issued it.

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.

COUNTY
LINE STONE CO., INC.

SECRETARY
OF LABOR,

MINE
SAFETY AND HEALTH       

ADMINISTRATION
(MSHA)         

v.

CONSOL
PENNSYLVANIA COAL

COMPANY
LLC

SECRETARY
OF LABOR,

MINE
SAFETY AND HEALTH       

ADMINISTRATION
(MSHA)         

v.

RAMACO
RESOURCES, LLC

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Docket
No. YORK 2022-0003

A.C.
No. 30-00026-541944

Docket
No. PENN 2021-0108

A.C.
No. 36-07416-539405

Docket
No. WEVA 2022-0260

A.C.
No. 46-09495-549775

BEFORE: Traynor,
Chair; Althen and Rajkovich, Commissioners

ORDER

BY THE COMMISSION:

These
captioned cases arise under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, 30 U.S.C. § 801 et seq. (2018) (“Mine Act”), and are currently before Administrative Law Judge Michael G. Young. The Secretary filed a Petition for Interlocutory Review with the Commission pursuant to Commission Procedural Rule 76, 29 C.F.R. § 2700.76. The Secretary’s petition seeks review of the Judge’s apparent intention to not grant the Secretary’s motions to approve settlement. Upon consideration of this petition and the case records, we conclude that because the Judge has yet to rule upon the Secretary’s motions, the Secretary’s petition is premature. In the absence of an interlocutory ruling by the Judge, we deny the Secretary’s Petition for Interlocutory Review.

More specifically, before the Judge, the
Secretary filed motions to approve settlement which contained a proposal to vacate one or more citations. In response, the Judge asked if the Secretary could certify that the decision to vacate any citation was independent from, and not contingent upon, the compromise or settlement of other citations in that case. Instead of providing the Judge with his requested assurance, the Secretary filed motions for certification of interlocutory review with the Judge, requesting that the Judge certify to the Commission the question of the Secretary’s discretion to vacate a contested citation as part of a settlement. On June 28, 2022, the Judge issued three separate orders, each denying the Secretary of Labor’s respective motion for certification of an interlocutory ruling.

As the Secretary’s petition to the
Commission recognizes, the same controlling question of law is currently on review before the Commission in Crimson Oak Grove Resources , SE 2021-0112 et al. Specifically, in Crimson Oak , the Commission granted interlocutory review of “ of the Judge’s orders denying the motions and the issue of whether section 110(k) of the Mine Act authorizes review of the Secretary’s decision to vacate a citation in the context of a settlement, when the vacatur is contingent upon the resolution of other citations.” Crimson Oak , Order at 2 (March 2, 2022) (emphasis added). Notably, in these captioned cases which are the subject of the Secretary’s petition before us, the Judge has yet to issue an order either granting or denying the Secretary’s motions to approve settlement.

For these reasons, the Secretary’s
petition is denied without prejudice.

/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
(by email):

Emily Toler-Scott, Esq.

Office of the Solicitor

U.S. Department of Labor

201 12th St. South, Suite 401

Arlington, VA 22202-5450

[email protected]

April Nelson, Esq. Associate
Solicitor

Office of the Solicitor

U.S. Department of Labor

201 12th St. South, Suite 401

Arlington, VA 22202-5450

[email protected]

Norman C. Ridley, CLR

U.S. Department of Labor, MSHA

Thorn Hill Industrial Park

178 Thorn Hill Road, Suite
100

Warrendale, PA 15086

[email protected]

Douglas Sciotto, CLR

U.S. Department of Labor, MSHA

631 Excel Drive, Suite 100

Mt. Pleasant, PA 15666

[email protected]

Chris A. Weaver, CLR

U.S. Department of Labor, MSHA

604 Cheat Road

Morgantown, WV 26508

[email protected]

Paul T. Sharlow, Esq.

Sharlow Law Firm, P.C.

P.O. Box 641

Jamesville, NY 13078

[email protected]

Craig Aaron

CONSOL Energy Inc.

10000 CONSOL Energy Drive, Suite 100

Canonsburg, PA 15317

[email protected]

Jonathan R. Ellis, Esq.

Steptoe & Johnson PLLC

Chase Tower, Seventeenth Floor

P.O. Box 1588

Charleston, WV 25326

[email protected]

Colton C. Parsons, Esq.

Steptoe & Johnson PLLC

Chase Tower, Seventeenth Floor

P.O. Box 1588

Charleston, WV 25326

[email protected]

Administrative Law Judge Michael
G. Young

Federal Mine Safety & Health Review
Commission

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

Washington, DC 20004-1710

[email protected]

Chief Administrative Law Judge
Glynn Voisin

Federal Mine Safety & Health Review
Commission

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

Washington, DC 20004-1710

[email protected]

Melanie Garris

Office of Civil Penalty Compliance

Mine Safety and Health Administration

U.S. Department of Labor

201 12th St. South,
Suite 401

Arlington, VA 22202-5450

[email protected]