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 liabilities to Magnum Coal, which was later acquired by Patriot Coal. When Patriot went bankrupt in two thousand and fifteen, the Department of Labor instructed district directors to hold Arch liable for benefits accrued during its ownership of Apogee. The miners applied for benefits between two thousand and fifteen and two thousand and seventeen, and the Board affirmed the district directors’ decisions naming Arch as 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, the court noted that Arch and Apogee conceded they were making the same arguments based on materially identical facts that the court had rejected in a published decision two years prior. The court stated that as the petitioners recognize, that prior decision binds the court, necessitating the denial of the petitions.
What it means going forward
The ruling confirms that a former parent corporation remains liable for black lung benefits accrued during its ownership and self-insurance period, even after selling the subsidiary, when the arguments against such liability have already been rejected by the court in a binding precedent.