This consolidated case involves multiple miners who worked for Apogee Coal Company in Kentucky during the 1990s. At that time, Apogee was a subsidiary of Arch Resources, Inc. Instead of purchasing commercial insurance, Arch self-insured Apogee against black-lung claims. In 2005, Arch sold Apogee and its black-lung liabilities to Magnum Coal, which was later acquired by Patriot Coal. When Patriot filed for bankruptcy in 2015, the Department of Labor issued a bulletin instructing district directors to hold Arch liable as the responsible insurer for claims accrued during the period Arch owned Apogee. The miners applied for benefits between 2015 and 2017. After district directors granted the benefits and named Arch as the responsible insurer, Arch appealed, arguing that the 2005 sale relieved it of the obligation. Administrative law judges and the Benefits Review Board affirmed the directors' decisions, leading to these petitions for review.
The Sixth Circuit reviewed the Board's legal conclusions de novo. The court noted that Arch and Apogee conceded that they were advancing the exact same arguments based on materially identical facts that the court had rejected in its 2024 published decision, Apogee Coal Co. v. Director, OWCP (Howard). The court emphasized that this prior decision is binding on the panel. Because the petitioners' arguments were identical to those already rejected in the binding precedent, the court found no basis to overturn the Board's decision. The court stated, 'As Arch and Apogee recognize, that decision binds us here. We must therefore deny the petitions.'
The denial of the petitions leaves the Benefits Review Board's decision affirming Arch Resources' financial responsibility for the miners' benefits in place. Arch remains liable for paying benefits under the Black Lung Benefits Act for claims accrued while it owned and self-insured Apogee. The decision reinforces the application of the self-insurer liability rule established in the Howard precedent, ensuring that the federal government is not shifted the liability for these claims due to the bankruptcy of subsequent owners.