Apogee Coal Co. v. Director, OWCP – Do It For The Caselaw

The Sixth Circuit denies petitions for review, affirming that Arch Resources remains liable for Black Lung benefits under the self-insurance provisions of the Black Lung Benefits Act. The court holds that because the petitioners concede their arguments are identical to those previously rejected in Apogee Coal Co. v. Director, OWCP, the prior published decision binds this panel.

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 under 30 U.S.C. § 933(a). 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 instructed district directors to hold Arch liable as the responsible insurer for claims accrued during the period it owned and self-insured Apogee. The miners in these consolidated cases applied for benefits between 2015 and 2017. Administrative law judges and the Benefits Review Board affirmed the district directors' decisions, ruling that Arch remained liable. Arch appealed, arguing that the 2005 sale relieved it of the obligation to pay benefits.

The Sixth Circuit reviews the Benefits Review Board's legal conclusions de novo. The petitioners, Arch Resources and Apogee Coal Company, argued that the Board erred in holding Arch liable for benefits owed by Apogee. However, the court noted that both petitioners conceded that they were making the very same arguments based on materially identical facts that the court had rejected in a published decision two years prior, Apogee Coal Co., LLC v. Director, OWCP (Howard), 112 F.4th 343 (6th Cir. 2024). The court emphasized that because the petitioners recognize the prior decision binds them, the court must follow that precedent. Consequently, the court found no basis to overturn the Board's determination.

Arch Resources must continue paying Black Lung benefits to the individual miners despite having sold Apogee years earlier. The decision reinforces the binding nature of prior published panel decisions when the parties concede that the arguments and facts are identical. The ruling ensures that self-insured liabilities remain with the original insurer even after corporate sales, preventing the shifting of massive black-lung liabilities to the federal government during bankruptcy proceedings.