[DOCID: f:addorder.wais] DEAN HEYWARD ADDISON April 17, 1997 SE 94-101-M FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH REVIEW COMMISSION 1730 K STREET NW, 6TH FLOOR WASHINGTON, D.C. 20006 April 17, 1997 SECRETARY OF LABOR, : MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH : ADMINISTRATION (MSHA) : : v. : Docket No. SE 97-101-M : A.C. No. 09-01057-05513A DEAN HEYWARD ADDISON : BEFORE: Jordan, Chairman; Marks and Riley, Commissioners[1] ORDER BY THE COMMISSION: This matter arises under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, 30 U.S.C. § 801 et seq. (1994) ("Mine Act"). On March 3, 1997, the Commission received from Dean Heyward Addison ("Addison") a request to reopen a penalty assessment that had become a final order of the Commission pursuant to section 105(a) of the Mine Act, 30 U.S.C. § 815(a). It has been administratively determined that the Secretary of Labor does not oppose the motion for relief filed by Addison. Under section 105(a) of the Mine Act, an operator has 30 days following receipt of the Secretary of Labor's proposed penalty assessment within which to notify the Secretary that it wishes to contest the proposed penalty. 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). Addison asserts that he did not timely submit his request for a hearing ("Green Card") to the Department of Labor 's Mine Safety and Health Administration ("MSHA") because he was not totally familiar with the procedures for requesting a hearing concerning the proposed individual penalty assessment and understood, based on a conference call conducted with an administrative law judge and the Secretary's counsel, that the hearing on this assessment would be automatically combined with the hearing on a separate assessment issued to D & H Quarry, Inc., Addison's employer. Addison apparently submitted his untimely request for a hearing on the individual assessment only after learning that this understanding was not correct. Addison requests the Commission to reopen this matter. The Commission has held that, in appropriate circumstances and pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b), it possesses jurisdiction to reopen uncontested assessments that have become final under section 105(a). Jim Walter Resources, Inc., 15 FMSHRC 782, 786- 89 (May 1993); Rocky Hollow Coal Co., 16 FMSHRC 1931, 1932 (September 1994). The Commission has observed that default is a harsh remedy and that, if the defaulting party can make a showing of adequate or good cause for the failure to timely respond, the case may be reopened and appropriate proceedings on the merits permitted. See Coal Preparation Services, Inc., 17 FMSHRC 1529, 1530 (September 1995). In accordance with Rule 60(b)(1), the Commission has previously afforded parties relief from a final order of the Commission on the basis of inadvertence or mistake. See General Chemical Corp., 18 FMSHRC 704, 705 (May 1996); Kinross DeLamar Mining Co., 18 FMSHRC 1590, 1591-92 (September 1996). On the basis of the present record, we are unable to evaluate the merits of Addison's position. In the interest of justice, we remand the matter for assignment to a judge to determine whether Addison has met the criteria for relief under Rule 60(b). If the judge determines that such relief is appropriate, this case shall proceed pursuant to the Mine Act and the Commission's Procedural Rules, 29 C.F.R. Part 2700. Mary Lu Jordan, Chairman Marc Lincoln Marks, Commissioner James C. Riley, Commissioner **FOOTNOTES** [1]: Pursuant to section 113(c) of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, 30 U.S.C. § 823(c), this panel of three Commissioners has been designated to exercise the powers of the Commission.