FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH REVIEW COMMISSION
601 NEW JERSEY AVENUE, NW
SUITE 9500
WASHINGTON, DC 20001
March 18, 2009
SECRETARY OF LABOR, MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION (MSHA) v. XMV, INC. |
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Docket No. WEVA 2009-47 A.C. No. 46-08131-152112 Docket No. WEVA 2009-48 A.C. No. 46-08845-152118 |
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 October 7, 2008, the Commission received requests to
reopen two penalty assessments issued to XMV, Inc. (“XMV”) 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).
On June 3, 2008, the Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration
(“MSHA”) issued two proposed penalty assessments to XMV. After receiving no response,
MSHA sent XMV delinquency notifications on or around August 27, 2008, for the two penalty
assessments at issue. According to James F. Bowman, who filed the requests to reopen,
XMV
failed to timely respond to the proposed penalty assessments because of confusion among those
office employees signing for the assessments and the failure to use normal internal document
routing procedures, resulting in the failure of the documents to reach the proper offices on a
timely basis.
The Secretary states that she does not oppose the reopening of the assessments. She urges the operator to take all steps necessary to ensure that future penalty assessment contests are filed in a timely manner.
We have held 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).
Having reviewed XMV’s request and the Secretary’s response, we conclude that XMV
has failed to provide a sufficiently detailed explanation for its failure to timely contest the
proposed penalty assessments. Accordingly, we deny without prejudice XMV’s request.
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:
James F. Bowman
Extra Energy, Inc.
P.O. Box 99
Midway, WV 26878
Myra James, Chief
Office of Civil Penalty Compliance
MSHA
U.S. Dept. of Labor
1100 Wilson Blvd., 25th Floor
Arlington, VA 22209-3939
W. Christian Schumann, Esq.
Office of the Solicitor
U.S. Department of Labor
1100 Wilson Blvd., Room 2220
Arlington, VA 22209-2296
Douglas N. White, Esq.
Office of the Solicitor
U.S. Department of Labor
1100 Wilson Blvd., 22nd Floor West
Arlington, VA 22209-2247
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