Court Opinion

ID: 9468357
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 02:12:48.770719+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:40:49.973400
License: Public Domain

R. LANIER ANDERSON, III, Circuit Judge,
dissenting:
Respectfully, I dissent. I agree with the majority that the Commission was not clearly erroneous in finding that Ricky Carter lacked authority at the particular time to make the repair at issue. However, the majority fails to mention that the evidence in this case shows that the usual authority which employees like Ricky Carter had to make minor repairs such as the one at issue was withdrawn at the particular time for economic reasons wholly unrelated to safety. In response to the court’s request at oral argument, the Secretary conceded that “the record is clear that the authorization to repair the payloader was withdrawn *1083from Everglades’ employees for economic motives.” The decision of the Commission in this case assumed that any repairs by unauthorized personnel would necessarily implicate safety considerations. The majority opinion apparently acquiesces in that assumption. Supra at 1081. In my opinion, the above-mentioned concession by the Secretary and the controlling findings of fact in this case demonstrate that the assumption indulged by the Commission and the majority is unwarranted. It is now undisputed that the decision to have the vehicle repaired by an outside independent maintenance firm, rather than by employees like Ricky Carter, was made for economy reasons unrelated to safety. Moreover, the administrative law judge found as a fact that Carter was an experienced mechanic on internal combustion engines. Although the Commission noted that Carter had not been trained to repair the particular vehicle at issue, it did not dispute the ALJ’s finding that he was an experienced mechanic. Finally, the ALJ found as a fact that the repair at issue “was not, per se, a defect affecting ‘safety’ and required only minor repair.” (Finding of Fact No. 4.) Except for its assumption that any repair by unauthorized personnel involves safety, which in my opinion is unwarranted on the facts of this case, the Commission did not dispute or vacate this finding of the AU. Although repairs by unauthorized personnel might involve safety considerations as a general rule, I conclude on the facts of this case that the repair by Ricky Carter, although he was technically unauthorized, implicated no safety consideration. In my opinion, the Commission and the majority opinion have drawn unwarranted assumptions from the controlling facts of this case. Accordingly, I dissent.