INCOAL, INC.; OLD REPUBLIC INSURANCE COMPANY v. DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION PROGRAMS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR; JUDY SHEPHERD, widow of Randell Shepherd - Articles

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INCOAL, INC.; OLD REPUBLIC INSURANCE COMPANY v. DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION PROGRAMS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR; JUDY SHEPHERD, widow of Randell Shepherd

Posted by: Azya Thornton on Dec 16, 2024

Court: 6th Circuit Court (Published Opinions)

Attorneys 1: ON BRIEF: Michael A. Pusateri, Mark E. Solomons, GREENBERG TRAURIG, LLP, Washington, D.C., for Petitioner.

Attorneys 2: ON BRIEF: Kathleen H. Kim, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, Washington, D.C., for Federal Respondent.

Attorneys 3: ON BRIEF: Jacob Thomas Moak, MOAK & NUNNERY, P.S.C., Prestonsburg, Kentucky, for Respondent Shepherd.

Judge(s): MOORE, THAPAR, and DAVIS, Circuit Judges

Court Appealed: Petition for Review from the Benefits Review Board

KAREN NELSON MOORE, Circuit Judge. This case raises familiar issues. Randell Shepherd, a career coal miner, brought a claim for benefits under the Black Lung Benefits Act and invoked the Act’s presumption that—because he had mined for over fifteen years and was totally disabled by a combination of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (“COPD”), bronchitis, and emphysema—he was entitled to federal benefits for disability due to pneumoconiosis, also known as coal worker’s black lung. Incoal, Inc., Shepherd’s most recent coal-mining employer and the operator potentially liable for his benefits, challenged his entitlement to those benefits, submitting expert reports that, according to Incoal, demonstrated that Shepherd’s smoking history and not his mining history was the cause of his disability. An administrative law judge (“ALJ”) found that Incoal’s expert opinions were not well reasoned or documented, first, because they conflicted with the Act’s regulations and underlying principles as described in the preamble to the Act’s implementing regulations and, second, because the opinions were internally inconsistent and unreasoned. Incoal had, the ALJ held, failed to rebut the presumption that Shepherd was entitled to coal miners’ benefits. Incoal appealed to the Benefits Review Board (“BRB” or “Board”), which affirmed the ALJ’s decision.

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