FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH REVIEW COMMISSION
601 NEW JERSEY AVENUE, NW
SUITE 9500
WASHINGTON, DC 20001
December 2, 2011
SECRETARY OF LABOR, MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION (MSHA) v. MELROSE QUARRY & ASPHALT, LLC |
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Docket No. CENT 2010-754-M A.C. No. 23-00759-218908 Docket No. CENT 2010-755-M A.C. No. 23-00759-218908-02 |
BEFORE: Jordan, Chairman; Duffy, Young, Cohen, and Nakamura, 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 July 8, 2011, the Commission received from Melrose
Quarry & Asphalt, LLC (“Melrose”) two motions submitted by counsel seeking to reopen two
penalty proceedings and relieve it from the orders of default entered against it.
On March 15, 2011, Chief Judge Lesnick issued the Orders to Show Cause and Default Orders in response to Melrose’s failure to answer the Secretary’s September 16, 2010 Petitions for Assessment of Civil Penalty. In the orders, he ordered the operator to file its answers within 30 days or it would be in default.
Melrose asserts that the current management at the quarry is attempting to sort through and address three years of citations which were not handled by the previous management. Counsel for Melrose states it only received the Secretary’s petitions for assessment of civil penalties after contacting the Office of the Solicitor in late May 2011, after the default occurred. Melrose further states that, in the future, citations will be dealt with in an efficient manner to avoid default or delinquency. The Secretary does not oppose the requests to reopen.
The judge’s jurisdiction in this matter terminated when the default occurred. 29 C.F.R. § 2700.69(b). Under the Mine Act and the Commission’s procedural rules, relief from a judge’s decision may be sought by filing a petition for discretionary review within 30 days of its issuance. 30 U.S.C. § 823(d)(2); 29 C.F.R. § 2700.70(a). If the Commission does not direct review within 40 days of a decision’s issuance, it becomes a final decision of the Commission. 30 U.S.C. § 823(d)(1). Consequently, the judge’s orders here have become final decisions of the Commission.
In evaluating requests to reopen final 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”); Jim Walter Res., Inc., 15 FMSHRC 782, 786-89 (May 1993) (“JWR”). 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 Melrose’s requests and the Secretary’s responses, in the interests of
justice, we hereby reopen the proceedings and vacate the Orders of Default. Accordingly, these
cases are 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/ Mary Lu Jordan
Mary Lu Jordan, Chairman
/s/ Michael F. Duffy
Michael F. Duffy, Commissioner
/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
Distribution:
Rachel S. Gray, Esq.
The Todt Law Firm
212 South Meramee Avenue
St. Louis, MO 63105
W. Christian Schumann, Esq.
Office of the Solicitor
U.S. Department of Labor
1100 Wilson Blvd., Room 2220
Arlington, VA 22209-2296
Melanie Garris
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