**FEDERALMINE SAFETY AND HEALTH REVIEW COMMISSION**

Officeof Administrative Law Judges

1331Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Suite 520N

Washington,D.C. 20004

 

 

 

| DAVID A. ROSE  FARM & AG SERVICES, | :    CONTEST  PROCEEDINGS   |  
                                    Contestant,

 :

 
 

 :    Docket No.  SE 2023-0159-RM

 :    Order No. 9707523;  04/26/2023

 
 

                   v.

 

 

 

SECRETARY OF  LABOR,

   MINE SAFETY  AND HEALTH

   ADMINISTRATION  (MSHA),

                               Respondent.

 :    

 :  Docket No.  SE 2023-0160-RM

 :  Citation No.  9707524; 04/26/2023

 :  

 :  Docket No. SE  2023-0161-RM

 :  Citation No.  9707525; 04/26/2023

 :  

 :  Docket No.  SE 2023-0162-RM

 :  Citation No.  9707526; 04/26/2023

 :    

 :    Ortona  Mine

 :  Mine ID 08-01452  

 

 
GARCIA MINING,  LLC,

:     CONTEST  PROCEEDINGS

                                    Contestant,

:

 

:     Docket No.  SE 2023-0165-RM

:     Citation  No. 9707527; 04/26/2023

 

                   v.

 

 

SECRETARY OF  LABOR,

   MINE SAFETY  AND HEALTH

   ADMINISTRATION  (MSHA),

                               Respondent.

:     

:   Docket No.  SE 2023-0166-RM

:   Citation No.  9707528; 04/26/2023

:   

:   Docket No.  SE 2023-0167-RM

:   Citation No.  9707529; 04/26/2023

:     

:     Caloosahatchee  Mine

:   Mine ID 08-01453

 

 

 
**ORDERDENYING MOTION FOR EXPEDITED HEARING**

**AND**

**ORDERGRANTING MOTION TO CONSOLIDATE**

 

Theabove-docketed contest cases are before me upon the four notices of contest filed by David A. Rose Farm & AG Services on April 28,2023, and three notices of contest filed by Garcia Mining, LLC, on May 1, 2023,under section 105 of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (“Mine Act”),30 U.S.C. § 815. On May 2, 2023, counsel for Contestants filed a Motionfor Consolidation and Expedited Proceedings. Thereafter, on May 8, 2023, theSecretary of Labor filed her Opposition to Motion for Expedited Hearing but didnot address the motion to consolidate. Before me is one significant andsubstantial (“S&S”) section 104(g)(1) order for miner training and threenon-S&S section 104(a) citations issued to David A. Rose Farm & AGServices, as well as three non-S&S section 104(a) citations issued toGarcia Mining, LLC, all of which were issued by the same MSHA inspector onApril 26, 2023.  

 

**I. MOTION FOR EXPEDITED HEARING**

 

Inthe motion, Contestants “request that their cases be consolidated, that allcitations and orders listed above be vacated based on MSHA’s lack ofjurisdiction, or in the alternative, that an expedited hearing be granted.” (Mot.at 3.) Contestants assert that an expedited hearing is appropriate because theywill “suffer irreparable harm” from “financial costs[] and disruption of theirwork activities.” (Mot. at 2–3.) Contestantsargue that “expedited proceedings are warranted because these employers willcontinue to be inspected and unduly subject to onerous MSHA requirements whileperforming work that is not under that agency’s jurisdiction and which is notperformed on a permitted mine site, but at the dredging operation of theCorps.” (Mot. at 2.) 

 

CommissionRules do not provide any guidance on prerequisites for granting a request forexpedited hearing. *See* 29 C.F.R. § 2700.52.Under Commission case law, Commission Judges are tasked with using “informeddiscretion” considering all the facts when determining if an expedited hearingis appropriate. *Wyo.Fuel Co.*, 14 FMSHRC 1282, 1287(Aug. 1992). I find persuasive cases where Commission Judges have heldthat to prevail on a request for expedited hearing, the moving party bears the “burden of showing extraordinary or unique circumstancesresulting in continuing harm or hardship.” *Consolidation Coal Co.*,16 FMSHRC 495, 496 (Feb. 1994) (ALJ). 

 

TheCommission suggests that a mine currently closed or under a withdrawal order dueto MSHA action may warrant an expedited hearing. *See Wyo Fuel Co.,* 14 FMSHRC 1282,1287 (Aug. 1992) (reversing ALJ’s finding that he did not have discretion togrant an expedited hearing on a closure order). Commission Judges have determinedthat simply the mere threat of mine closure or the need for miner training is notan extraordinary or unique circumstance warranting anexpedited hearing, and I find these cases persuasive. *See PennyrileEnergy, LLC*, 38 FMSHRC 1886 (July 2016) (ALJ) (denying contestant’s motionfor expedited hearing on an order issued for an alleged training violation,because “[m]iner training is not a hardship that necessitates an expeditedhearing.”); *Energy W. Mine Co.*, 15 FMSHRC2223, 2223–25 (Oct. 1993) (ALJ) (continuing threat of closure and thepossibility of subsequent withdrawal order resulting from a section 104(d)(1)order is insufficient to warrant an expedited hearing). Here, Contestants areneither subject to a withdrawal order nor the threat of mine closure. Given thefacts provided, I determine that the order issued to David A. Rose Farm &AG Services to train miners under section 104(g)(1) is not a hardship that necessitatesan expedited hearing. And the issuance of the other six non-S&S section104(a) citations is likewise insufficient.

Otherthan broad allegations of financial harm and disruption of work, Contestants failto allege specific facts showing extraordinary or unique circumstances resultingin continuing harm or hardship if denied an expedited hearing. Contestants allegethey were not engaged in mining activities or working upon a mine site butrather were working on river-widening and dredging which do not come under MSHAjurisdiction, based on an interagency memorandum. (Mot. at 2.) In essence,Contestants argue that they should be inspected by another federal agency—theOccupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”)—rather than MSHA. However,I determine that such a jurisdictional issue is not an extraordinary or uniquecircumstance resulting in continuing harm or hardship that warrants anexpedited hearing.

 

Consequently,upon considering all the facts in exercising my informed discretion, Idetermine that Contestants allege no extraordinary or unique circumstances thatwill result in continuing harm or hardship. Therefore, I conclude an expeditedhearing is not warranted.

 

**II. MOTION FOR CONSOLIDATION**

 

CommissionProcedural Rule 12 allows Commission Judges to consolidate cases involvingsimilar issues. 29 C.F.R. § 2700.12. Commission Procedural Rule 55, 29 C.F.R. § 2700.55,also grants Commission Judges broad powers to issue orders and procedurallymanage the cases before them. Contestants were issued several citations and anorder by the same MSHA inspector on the same date, are alleging the samejurisdictional arguments involving the same work being done in proximatelocations, and share the same counsel. The Secretary has not objected toconsolidation of these dockets. Given the overlap of these matters and in theinterest of judicial economy, I conclude that consolidating these dockets isappropriate.

 

**III. ORDER**

 

**WHEREFORE**,it is hereby **ORDERED** that the motion for an expedited hearing in theabove-captioned dockets is **DENIED**. 

 

Itis further **ORDERED** that Contestants’ Motion for Consolidation is **GRANTED**.The parties are further **ORDERED** tonotify my Law Clerk when they file their respective pleadings (petition andanswer) in the penalty proceeding, so I may then seek to consolidate thecontest and penalty cases for hearing and disposition.

 

 

 

/s/Alan G. Paez

                                                                              AlanG. Paez

                                                                              AdministrativeLaw Judge

 

 

 

Distribution: (ViaElectronic Mail & U.S. Mail)

 

Kristin R. Murphy, Esq.& Kathryn C. Hagerman, Esq., U.S. Department of Labor, 

Office of the Solicitor, 61Forsyth Street, SW, Room 7T10, Atlanta, GA 30303-8931

(murphy.kristin.r@dol.gov)

(hagerman.kathryn.c@dol.gov)

(atl.fedcourt@dol.gov)

 

Adele L. Abrams, Esq.,Law Office of Adele L. Abrams, P.C., 4740 Corridor Place, Suite D, Beltsville,MD 20705-3332

(safetylawyer@gmail.com) 

 

/gw                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |
|-----------------------------------------|------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|