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 as the responsible insurer for claims accrued during its ownership. Administrative law judges and the Benefits Review Board affirmed the directors’ decisions, leading to these consolidated petitions for review.
The court’s reasoning
The court reviews the Board’s legal conclusions de novo. Petitioners argued that the Board erred in holding Arch liable after it sold Apogee in two thousand and five. However, the petitioners 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 prior decision binds it, the petitions must be denied.
What it means going forward
The ruling maintains the liability of Arch Resources for Black Lung Benefits owed to miners who worked for its former subsidiary Apogee, preventing the shift of these liabilities to the federal government or successor entities in similar bankruptcy scenarios.