FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH REVIEW COMMISSION
601 NEW JERSEY AVENUE, NW
SUITE 9500
WASHINGTON, DC 20001
June 24, 2009
SECRETARY OF LABOR, MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION (MSHA) v. KWV OPERATIONS, LLC |
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Docket No. WEVA 2009-1038 A.C. No. 46-08122-170790 Docket No. WEVA 2009-1039 A.C. No. 46-08904-170801 |
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 March 25, 2009, the Commission received from KWV
Operations, LLC (“KWV”) motions by counsel seeking to reopen penalty assessments that had
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).
We have held, however, 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).
KWV states that its vice president received the assessments and marked the citations that he intended to contest and then forwarded them to KWV’s corporate office. KWV further asserts that through “inadvertence or mistake” the assessments were not timely returned to MSHA. The Secretary states that she does not oppose the reopening of the proposed penalty assessment.
Having reviewed KWV’s motions and the Secretary’s response, we conclude that KWV
has not provided a sufficiently detailed explanation for its failure to timely contest the proposed
penalty assessments. KWV’s conclusory statement that its corporate office failed to timely file
the contests because of “mistake or inadvertence” does not provide the Commission with an
adequate basis to justify reopening. Accordingly, we deny the requests for relief without
prejudice.
See Eastern Associated Coal, LLC, 30 FMSHRC 392, 394 (May 2008); James
Hamilton Constr., 29 FMSHRC 569, 570 (July 2007).
___________________________________
Michael F. Duffy, Chairman
___________________________________
Mary Lu Jordan, Commissioner
___________________________________
Michael G. Young, Commissioner
___________________________________
Robert F. Cohen, Jr., Commissioner
Distribution:
Billy R. Shelton, Esq.
Jones, Walters, Turner & Shelton PLLC
151 N. Eagle Creek Drive, Suite 310
Lexington, KY 40509
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