FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH REVIEW COMMISSION
601 NEW JERSEY AVENUE, NW
SUITE 9500
WASHINGTON, DC 20001
December 10, 2008
SECRETARY OF LABOR, MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION (MSHA) v. SOLAR COAL COMPANY |
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Docket No. KENT 2008-1207 A.C. No. 15-18747-145685 Docket No. KENT 2008-1208 A.C. No. 15-18747-142094 Docket No. KENT 2008-1209 A.C. No. 15-18747-138070 Docket No. KENT 2008-1210 A.C. No. 15-18747-135133 Docket No. KENT 2008-1211 A.C. No. 15-18747-132889 Docket No. KENT 2008-1212 A.C. No. 15-18747-130570 Docket No. KENT 2008-1213 A.C. No. 15-18747-128271 |
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. (2000) (“Mine Act”). On May 14, 2008, the Commission received from Solar Coal
Company (“Solar”) a letter from its owner that was subsequently amended to make clear that
Solar is seeking to reopen eight 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). This order addresses
the request to reopen as to seven of the assessments.
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).
In her letter to the Commission, in connection with asserting that the proposed penalty amount in a pending proceeding is more than the company can afford to pay, Solar’s owner states that “[a]fter examining past citations and reviewing the compan[y’s] financial records, I ask that the following cases be reopened and contested to a lower amount due to their outstanding balances.” The first seven cases listed are proposed penalty assessments that the Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (“MSHA”) issued to Solar on April 3, 2008 (A.C. No. 145685), on February 28, 2008 (A.C. No. 142094), on January 31, 2008 (A.C. No. 138070), on January 3, 2008 (A.C. No. 135133), on November 29, 2007 (A.C. No. 132889), on November 1, 2007 (A.C. No. 130570), and on October 4, 2007 (A.C. No. 128271).
In response, the Secretary states that inability to pay a penalty is not a grounds for reopening under Rule 60(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and notes that if the operator wishes to set up a payment plan, it should contact MSHA’s Office of Assessments.
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 inadvertence or mistake. 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).
Because Solar’s request for relief does not explain the company’s failure to contest the
proposed assessments on a timely basis, and is not based on any of the grounds for relief set forth
in Rule 60(b), we hereby deny the request for relief without prejudice. See FKZ Coal Inc., 29
FMSHRC 177, 178 (Apr. 2007). The words “without prejudice” mean that Solar may submit
another request to reopen the cases so that it can contest specific citations and penalty
assessments.
In the meantime, in order to narrow the potential scope of a refiled request to reopen, the Secretary should address with Solar whether Solar’s letter, dated May 11, 2008, and sent to MSHA at its address for contests, will be treated by the Secretary as a timely contest of Assessment No. 145685, dated April 3, 2008, and the subject of Docket No. KENT 2008-1207. If Solar’s letter was sent to MSHA within 30 days of Solar’s receipt of that assessment (a date MSHA should have in its records), the letter would not have been an untimely response to the assessment.
____________________________________
Michael F. Duffy, Chairman
____________________________________
Mary Lu Jordan, Commissioner
____________________________________
Michael G. Young, Commissioner
____________________________________
Robert F. Cohen, Jr., Commissioner
Distribution:
Scarlett Biliter, Owner
Solar Coal Company
76 George Road
Betsy Layne, KY 41605
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. Department of Labor
1100 Wilson Blvd., Room 2220
Arlington, VA 22209-2296
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