Background
In the nineteen nineties, miners worked for Apogee Coal Company, a subsidiary of Arch Resources, Inc. Arch self-insured Apogee against black lung claims rather than purchasing commercial insurance. In two thousand and five, Arch sold Apogee and its black lung liabilities to Magnum Coal. Three years later, Patriot Coal acquired Magnum and its subsidiaries. In two thousand and fifteen, Patriot went bankrupt, creating a risk that black lung liabilities would shift to the federal government. The Department of Labor instructed its district directors to hold Arch liable as the responsible insurer for claims accrued while it owned and self-insured Apogee. Miners applied for benefits between two thousand and fifteen and two thousand and seventeen. Administrative law judges and the Benefits Review Board affirmed the district directors’ decisions, naming Apogee the responsible operator and Arch the responsible insurer.
The court’s reasoning
The court reviews the Board’s legal conclusions de novo. The petitioners argued that the Board erred in holding Arch liable because it had sold Apogee in two thousand and five. However, Arch and Apogee conceded that they were making the same arguments based on materially identical facts that the court rejected in a published decision two years prior. The court stated that because the petitioners recognized that prior decision, it binds the court here. Consequently, the court denied the petitions.
What it means going forward
The denial maintains the liability of Arch Resources, Inc. for black lung benefits owed to miners who worked for its former subsidiary, Apogee Coal Company, during the period Arch self-insured the subsidiary.