In the 1990s, miners worked for Apogee Coal Company, a subsidiary of Arch Resources, Inc. Rather than purchasing commercial insurance, Arch self-insured Apogee against black-lung claims. In 2005, Arch sold Apogee and its associated liabilities to Magnum Coal, which was later acquired by Patriot Coal. When Patriot filed for bankruptcy in 2015, the Department of Labor issued guidance holding Arch liable as the responsible insurer for claims accrued during the period it owned and self-insured Apogee. Miners applied for benefits between 2015 and 2017, and the Department of Labor district directors granted them, naming Apogee as the operator and Arch as the insurer. Arch appealed, arguing that the 2005 sale terminated its liability, but administrative law judges and the Benefits Review Board affirmed the directors' decisions.
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 2005. However, the court noted that Arch and Apogee conceded they were making the same arguments based on materially identical facts that the court had already rejected in a published decision two years prior, Apogee Coal Co. v. Director, OWCP (Howard), 112 F.4th 343 (6th Cir. 2024). The court emphasized that this prior decision binds it. Consequently, the court found no legal basis to overturn the Board's determination that Arch remains the responsible insurer.
The denial of the petitions means the Department of Labor's determination stands, requiring Arch Resources to pay benefits to the miners. The decision reinforces the stability of the black-lung benefits system by preventing parent corporations from evading self-insured liabilities through the sale of subsidiaries, particularly in the context of subsequent bankruptcies of acquiring entities.