Opinion ID: 2967560
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: any other person who is identified as having

Text: a partnership interest or joint venture with a signatory operator in a business within the coal indus- try, but only if such business employed eligible beneficiaries, except that this clause shall not apply to a person whose only interest is as a lim- ited partner. A related person shall also include a successor in interest of any person described in clause (i), (ii), or (iii). 26 U.S.C.A. § 9701(c)(2)(A). According to the language of the statute, even if the signatory operator and its related persons are defunct, coverage for the retiree can be assigned to a successor in interest to a related person. The term successor in interest, however, is left undefined by the Coal Act. A related person or its successor in interest is not liable for Combined Fund premiums unless the related person was related as described in section 9701(c)(2)(A) as of the time immediately before such operator ceased to be in business. 26 U.S.C.A. § 9701(c)(2)(B). In the event there is no signatory operator or related person remaining in business, and there is no successor in interest to any entity that is related to a signatory operator within the meaning of section 9701(c)(2)(A), then the retiree or his dependents are unassigned but not uncovered. The Coal Act requires the assigned signatory operators to cover the benefits for the unassigned miners on a pro rata basis. See 26 U.S.C.A. § 9704(d). The premiums paid on behalf of the unassigned miners' benefits are reduced by the transfer of funds from the Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Fund (the AML Fund). See 26 U.S.C.A. § 9705(b); 30 U.S.C.A. § 1232(h) (West Supp. 1998). 8