U.S. Steel Mining Co. v. Director

• Decision Date: 27 June 2013
• Docket Number: No. 11–14468.,11–14468.
• Citation: 719 F.3d 1275
• Parties: U.S. STEEL MINING COMPANY, LLC, Petitioner, v. DIRECTOR, OWCP, Kathy Starks, Widow of Eligah Starks (Deceased), Respondents.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit

719 F.3d 1275

U.S. STEEL MINING COMPANY, LLC, Petitioner,

v.DIRECTOR, OWCP, Kathy Starks, Widow of Eligah Starks (Deceased), Respondents.

No. 11–14468.

United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit.

June 27, 2013.

Neil Richard Clement, David E. Malick, Richardson Clement, PC, Birmingham, AL, for Petitioner.

Helen Hart Cox, Michelle Seyman Gerdano, Sean G. Bajkowski, Steven Breeskin, Gary A. Steinberg, U.S. Dept. of Labor, Office of the Solicitor, Thomas O. Shepherd, USDOL Benefits Review Board, Washington, DC, Abigail P. Van Alstyne, Quinn, Connor, Weaver, Davies & Rouco, LLP, Birmingham, AL, for Respondents.

Petition for Review of a Decision of the Benefits Review Board.

Before WILSON and COX, Circuit Judges, and VOORHEES,^* District Judge.

COX, Circuit Judge:

Federal law establishes a program that provides benefits to miners who suffer from pneumoconiosis, a respiratory illness colloquially known as black lung disease. The program also allows certain surviving relatives of a miner to claim benefits after the miner's death. Until 2010, a survivor was required to show that the miner died due to pneumoconiosis before the survivor could receive statutory benefits. But since the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act amended 30 U.S.C. § 932( l), a provision of the black lung benefits program, circuits have debated whether survivors are still required to establish what caused the miner's death.

This question now arrives on our doorstep. Kathy Starks, the widow of deceased miner Eligah Starks, won a benefits award in 2010 from U.S. Steel Mining Company, Eligah's former employer, without showing that Eligah died due to pneumoconiosis. When U.S. Steel appealed, the Department of Labor's Benefits ReviewBoard affirmed, holding that Kathy did not need to show the cause of Eligah's death. The Board also rejected U.S. Steel's arguments that Kathy's claim did not fall within the retroactive date of the § 932( l) amendment and that, even if it did, the retroactive application of the amendment violates due process. U.S. Steel now petitions this court for review. We agree with the Board and deny the petition.

I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Congress has developed piecemeal the statutory program for providing benefits to miners afflicted with pneumoconiosis and to the families of those miners. Recurring issues in the continual revisions include the showing that a miner's family members—including his or her spouse—must make and the procedure they must follow to receive statutory benefits after the miner's death. These issues are at the heart of U.S. Steel's petition and require a discussion of the benefits scheme's development.

A. The Black Lung Benefits Provisions

The current benefits regime began in 1970 when Congress enacted the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969. Pub.L. No. 91–173, 83 Stat. 742. A professed purpose of the original legislation, at least with regard to miners' survivors, was “to provide benefits ... to the surviving dependents of miners whose death was due to” pneumoconiosis. Id. § 401, 83 Stat. at 792 (codified as amended at 30 U.S.C. § 901(a)). The legislation directed the Secretary of Labor to “make payments of benefits in respect of ... the death of any miner whose death was due to pneumoconiosis,” id. § 411(a), 83 Stat. at 793 (codified as amended at 30 U.S.C. § 921(a)), and it instructed benefits to be paid to a miner's widow “[i]n the case of death of a miner due to pneumoconiosis or of a miner receiving benefits under this part,” id. § 412(a)(2), 83 Stat. at 794 (codified as amended at 30 U.S.C. § 922(a)(2)). The legislation provided that the federal government would pay the benefits until 1973, at which time state workers' compensation programs would take over the payments or the miners' former employers would be liable for them. Id. § 422(a), 83 Stat. at 796 (codified as amended at 30 U.S.C. § 932(a)). If the former employer was to pay, the legislation directed that employer to pay benefits to the persons listed in 30 U.S.C. § 922(a). Id. § 422(c), 83 Stat. at 796 (codified as amended at 30 U.S.C. § 932(c)).

One problem that arose in the initial years of the program was that many surviving spouses could not gather evidence to prove that their miner spouses died due to pneumoconiosis, a condition of the 1970 legislation. See John S. Lopatto, III, The Federal Black Lung Program: A 1983 Primer, 85 W. Va. L.Rev. 677, 684 (1982–1983). In 1972, Congress added language to allow surviving spouses to obtain benefits with an alternative showing. In the Black Lung Benefits Act of 1972, Congress amended 30 U.S.C. § 901—the declaration of purpose—so that a purpose of the benefits provisions was to provide benefits “to the surviving dependents of miners whose death was due to [pneumoconiosis] or who were totally disabled by this disease at the time of their deaths.” Pub.L. No. 92–303, § 4(b), 86 Stat. 150, 153–54 (codified as amended at 30 U.S.C. § 901) (emphasis added). Congress also amended § 921(a) to direct the Secretary to pay benefits “in respect of the death of any miner whose death was due to pneumoconiosis or ... who at the time of his death was totally disabled by pneumoconiosis.” Id. (codified as amended at 30 U.S.C. § 921(a)) (emphasis added). After the 1972 Act, then, surviving spouses could obtain benefits either by showing that the miner died due to pneumoconiosis or that the miner had been totally disabled by the disease when he or she died.

Congress again amended the provisions in 1978. Two amendments are relevant to this case. First, Congress expanded the list of survivors entitled to seek benefits to include children, parents, and siblings. Black Lung Benefits Reform Act of 1977, Pub.L. 95–239, § 3(b)(1), 92 Stat. 95, 96 (1978) (codified as amended at 30 U.S.C. § 922(a)(3), (5)). Second—and most importantly for this case—Congress added a provision that eliminated the need to file a claim for survivors whose associated miner had been awarded benefits under the benefits scheme by the time the miner died. The new provision, codified at 30 U.S.C. § 932( l) under the heading “Filing of new claims or refiling or revalidation of claims of miners already determined eligible at the time of death,” read:

In no case shall the eligible survivors of a miner who was determined to be eligible to receive benefits under this title at the time of his or her death be required to file a new claim for benefits, or refile or otherwise revalidate the claim of such miner.

Id. § 7(h), 92 Stat. at 100 (codified as amended at 30 U.S.C. § 932( l)). Under this provision, the “eligible survivors” of miners who had already been awarded benefits did not need to file a claim to continue receiving those benefits after the miner's death. See H.R. Rep. 95–864, at 19 (1978); Smith v. Camco Mining Inc., 13 Black Lung Rep. (Westlaw) 1–17, *3 (Ben.Rev.Bd. 1989).

In 1981, Congress changed course. The Black Lung Benefits Act of 1981 amended the benefits provisions to once again require survivors to file claims and show that their associated miners died due to pneumoconiosis. Specifically, the 1981 Act made changes to four sections relevant to this discussion. First, the 1981 Act amended § 932( l) to cancel its effect for any claim for benefits after the Act's effective date of January 1, 1982. The amended § 932( l) read:

In no case shall the eligible survivors of a miner who was determined to be eligible to receive benefits under this subchapter at the time of his or her death be required to file a new claim for benefits, or refile or otherwise revalidate the claim of such miner, except with respect to a claim filed under this part on or after [January 1, 1982].

Pub.L. No. 97–119, § 203(a)(6), 95 Stat. 1635, 1644 (codified as amended at 30 U.S.C. § 932( l )) (emphasis added). Second, the Act amended § 901 to strike the language added in 1972, so that the only purpose of the benefits provisions regarding surviving spouses was to “provide benefits ... to the surviving dependents of miners whose death was due to [pneumoconiosis].” Id. § 203(a)(4), 95 Stat. at 1644 (codified at 30 U.S.C. § 901(a)). Third, the Act amended § 921(a) so that the Secretary was directed to pay benefits “in respect of the death of any miner whose death was due to pneumoconiosis or, except with respect to a claim filed ... on or after [January 1, 1982], who at the time of his death was totally disabled by pneumoconiosis.” Id. § 203(a)(5), 95 Stat. at 1643 (codified at 30 U.S.C. § 921(a)) (emphasis added). Fourth, the Act amended § 922(a) so that benefits payments would go to a miner's widow, child, parents, or siblings “[i]n the case of death of a miner due to pneumoconiosis or, except with respect to a claim filed ... on or after [January 1, 1982], of a miner receiving benefits under this part.” Id. § 203(a)(1)–(3), 95 Stat. at 1644 (codified at 30 U.S.C. § 922(a)(2), (3), (5)) (emphasis added). The net effect of these amendments: to obtain benefits after 1981, survivors needed to file claims and show that their associated miners died due to pneumoconiosis.

See Pothering v. Parkson Coal Co., 861 F.2d 1321, 1327 (3d Cir.1988); Neeley v. Dir., Office of Workers' Comp. Programs, 11 Black Lung Rep. (Westlaw) 1–85, *1 (Ben.Rev.Bd. 1988).

The provisions went substantially unamended for almost thirty years. And it was under this post–1981 benefits scheme that Kathy Starks filed for benefits following the death of her husband, Eligah.

B. Kathy Starks's Claim

Eligah Starks worked in a coal mine for forty-four years. In November 1998, he filed a claim for black lung benefits, and an administrative law judge awarded him benefits in May 2000. The benefits were paid by U.S. Steel Mining Company, Eligah's former employer. Eligah died in February 2006, leaving Kathy as his surviving spouse. In April 2006, Kathy filed a claim to receive the benefits Eligah had been receiving when he died. An administrative law judge denied her benefits in July...