Combs v. Maben Energy Corp., Civ. A. No. 83-5098
| Decision Date | 19 June 1986 |
| Docket Number | 83-5134 and 83-5140.,83-5112,Civ. A. No. 83-5098 |
| Parties | Harrison COMBS, et al., as Trustees of the United Mine Workers Health and Retirement Funds, Plaintiffs, v. MABEN ENERGY CORPORATION, Defendant and Third-Party Plaintiff, v. SLAB FORK COAL COMPANY, Third-Party Defendant. Harrison COMBS, et al., as Trustees of the United Mine Workers Health and Retirement Funds, Plaintiffs, v. HALF-WAY, INC., Defendant and Third-Party Plaintiff, v. SLAB FORK COAL COMPANY, Third-Party Defendant. Harrison COMBS, et al., as Trustees of the United Mine Workers Health and Retirement Funds, Plaintiffs, v. OLD MILL MINING, INC., Defendant and Third-Party Plaintiff, v. SLAB FORK COAL COMPANY, Third-Party Defendant. Harrison COMBS, et al., as Trustees of the United Mine Workers Health and Retirement Funds, Plaintiffs, v. EAST GULF FUEL CORPORATION, Defendant and Third-Party Plaintiff, v. SLAB FORK COAL COMPANY, Third-Party Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of West Virginia |
Gary A. Collias, McIntyre, Haviland & Jordan, Charleston, W.Va., for plaintiffs.
John F. Rist, III, Beckley, W.Va., for Maben Energy, Half-Way, Inc. and East Gulf.
Richard E. Rowe, Goodwin & Goodwin, Charleston, W.Va., for Slab Fork.
Pat C. Fragile, Wooton, Wooton & Fragile, Beckley, W.Va., for Old Mill.
These cases come before this Court on cross motions for summary judgment in order to determine the meaning of a provision of the National Bituminous Coal Wage Agreement of 1981. The facts applicable to each of the cases are as follows.
Plaintiffs, Harrison Combs, John J. O'Connell and Paul R. Dean are Trustees of the United Mine Workers of America 1950 Pension Trust, 1950 Benefit Trust, 1974 Pension Trust and 1974 Benefit Trust, which are referred to as the United Mine Workers of America Health and Retirement Funds. The Trustees conduct business of the trusts at 2021 K Street, N.W., Washington, DC.
The Defendants, Maben Energy Corporation, Half-Way, Inc., East Gulf Fuel Corporation and Old Mill Mining, Inc., are and were engaged in the business of operating certain contract coal mines. Maben Energy Corporation operated in and about Maben, Wyoming County, West Virginia, with an office address at 41 Eagles Road, Beckley, West Virginia. Half-Way, Inc. operates in and about Alpoca, Wyoming County, West Virginia, with an office and address at 604 Maxwell Hill Road, Beckley, West Virginia. East Gulf Fuel Corporation operates in and about Gulf, Raleigh County, West Virginia, with an office and address at 41 Eagles Road, Beckley, West Virginia. Also Old Mill Mining is and was engaged in the business of operating contract coal mines in and about Maben, Wyoming County, West Virginia, with an office and address at 218 Grist Mill Drive, Beckley, West Virginia.
Jurisdiction is conferred on the Court by Section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947, 29 U.S.C. § 185, and also by Sections 502-515 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, 29 U.S.C. §§ 1132-1145, as amended by the Multi-Employer Pension Plan Amendments Act of 1980, in that Plaintiffs are aggrieved by the Defendants' alleged violations of the collective bargaining agreement and trusts of the United Mine Workers of America Health and Retirement Funds, which they further allege violate the provisions of ERISA as amended.
The Funds are employee benefit plans within the meaning of ERISA, 29 U.S.C. § 1001, et seq. The Funds bring these actions on behalf of its trustees, participants and beneficiaries.
On or about June 7, 1981, the Defendant Maben and the United Mine Workers of America entered into the National Bituminous Coal Wage Agreement of 1981. The UMWA and the Defendant Half-Way entered into an identical agreement on November 16, 1981. The UMWA and Defendant East Gulf likewise entered into an identical agreement on June 14, 1982. On or about October 22, 1981, the Defendant Old Mill and the United Mine Workers of America entered into the National Bituminous Coal Wage Agreement of 1981. Under the terms of the wage agreement, at Article XX(d), the "signatory employers engaged in the production of coal" are required to pay into the Funds certain amounts on tons of coal "produced by such employer for use or for sale", and for each hour worked by their classified employees. Signatory employers agreed to make payments by the tenth day of each month covering the amounts due for the preceding month's operation and to furnish monthly statements showing on a mine-by-mine basis the full amounts due for the tons of coal produced, procured, or acquired for use or for sale and for the hours worked with respect to which the amounts are payable. The Plaintiffs allege that the Defendants have not made payments as required by the wage agreement. The failure to make payments would cause the Funds to suffer loss of investment income and to incur administrative costs.
The Defendants allege that they were merely contract miners who provided the service of mining coal and as such did not produce coal for sale or for use as defined in the wage agreement. Also, the Defendants contend that the producer of the coal was Slab Fork Coal Company. Further, the Defendants contend that the Plaintiff has assessed and collected production of royalty from the owner or producer of the coal and assessed and collected the hourly royalty from the contractor or provider of services. It is agreed that all hourly royalties were paid as required.
With respect to the Maben case, on October 3, 1977, and at various times thereafter, Maben entered into mining contracts with Westmoreland Coal Company which mining contracts were assigned to and accepted by Slab Fork Coal Company, the Third-Party Defendant herein, on or about April 2, 1982. The Defendant Maben Energy Corporation asserts that the contract did provide that Maben was to provide services, labor and equipment to mine the mineral which was owned by Slab Fork Coal Company. The assignment to and acceptance by Slab Fork did not involve any alteration of the October 3, 1977, agreement which remained in effect at all times pertinent herein. Pertinent to that agreement, Maben operated the Maben No. One Coal Mine referred to in the October 3, 1977, agreement and severed coal. Maben employed the workers represented for collective bargaining purposes by the UMWA whose coal mining work was performed pursuant to the wage agreement. Maben supervised the classified employees and provided its own management. Pursuant to the terms of that agreement, once the coal was mined, it was delivered to Slab Fork. During the period December, 1982, through July, 1983, Maben mined for Slab Fork a net of 49,803.04 tons of coal, as indicated by an audit performed by the staff of the Plaintiff Trustees. The parties agree to the hourly and tonnage figures arrived at in the audit. The parties disagree as to the characterization by the audit of the tonnage figures as constituting "produced for use or sale" tonnage under the terms of the wage agreement.
The audit indicates an offset of $4,182.98 by virtue of overpaid hourly royalties which Maben has made. The Plaintiffs agree that Maben is entitled to a credit against any amount the Court may find owing as tonnage royalty, but the Plaintiffs contend that $231.85 of that cannot be refunded due to the provisions of 29 U.S.C. § 1103(c)(2)(A) and the date of amendment of that provision. The Defendants object to this contention.
As to Half-Way, that company entered into mining contracts with Westmoreland Coal Company on August 17, 1981. That mining contract was assigned to and accepted by Slab Fork Coal Company, the Third-Party Defendant herein, on or about April 9, 1982. The Defendant asserts that the contract did provide that it was to provide services, labor and equipment to mine the mineral which was owned by Westmoreland. Pursuant to that agreement, Half-Way operated a coal mine and separated coal. Half-Way employed workers represented for collective bargaining purposes by the UMWA whose coal mining work was performed pursuant to the wage agreement. Half-Way supervised the classified employees and provided its own management. Pursuant to the terms of the mining contract with Westmoreland, now Slab Fork, once the coal was mined it was delivered to Slab Fork. During the period of June 7, 1981, through July, 1983, Half-Way mined for Slab Fork pursuant to its mining contract, and a net of 28,314.42 tons of coal was mined and UMWA represented employees worked a total of 43,443.50 hours.
The above figures are based on an audit performed by the staff of the Plaintiff Trustees, and the parties agree that the hourly and tonnage figures arrived at in that audit are accurate, and again the parties disagree as to the audit's characterization of these figures as constituting production for use or for sale.
With respect to East Gulf, that company entered into a contract for the mining of coal with Slab Fork Coal Company on June 10, 1982. The Defendant asserts that the contract did provide that it was to provide services and labor and equipment to mine the mineral which was owned by Slab Fork. Pursuant to that arrangement, East Gulf operated a coal mine and severed coal. The East Gulf employed workers represented for collective bargaining purposes by the UMWA whose coal mining work was performed pursuant to the wage agreement. East Gulf supervised the classified employees and provided its own management. Pursuant to the terms of the mining contract, once the coal was mined it was delivered to Slab Fork.
During the period of June 14, 1981, through July, 1983, East Gulf mined for Slab Fork, a net of 130,483.37 tons of coal, and its UMWA represented employees worked a total of 51,570 hours. These figures are based on an audit performed by the staff of the Plaintiff Trustees, and the parties agree as to the accuracy of those figures, however, the parties...
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