Pennsylvania Mines Corporation v. Michael H. Holland

197 F.3d 114
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Third Circuit
DecidedNovember 22, 1999
Docket114
StatusPublished

This text of 197 F.3d 114 (Pennsylvania Mines Corporation v. Michael H. Holland) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pennsylvania Mines Corporation v. Michael H. Holland, 197 F.3d 114 (3d Cir. 1999).

Opinion

197 F.3d 114 (3rd Cir. 1999)

PENNSYLVANIA MINES CORPORATION
v.
MICHAEL H. HOLLAND, TRUSTEE OF THE UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA 1974 PENSION PLAN; TRUSTEE OF THE UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA 1992 BENEFIT PLAN; TRUSTEE OF THE UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA 1993 BENEFIT PLAN; DONALD E. PIERCE, JR., TRUSTEE OF THE UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA 1974 PENSION PLAN; TRUSTEE OF THE UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA 1993 BENEFIT PLAN; ELLIOT A. SEGAL, TRUSTEE OF THE UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA 1974 PENSION PLAN; TRUSTEE OF THE UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA 1993 PENSION PLAN; JOSEPH J. STAHL, II, TRUSTEE OF THE UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA 1974 PENSION PLAN; MARTY D. HUDSON, TRUSTEE OF THE UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA 1992 BENEFIT PLAN; THOMAS F. CONNORS, TRUSTEE OF THE UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA 1992 BENEFIT PLAN; TRUSTEE OF THE UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA 1993 BENEFIT PLAN; ROBERT T. WALLACE, TRUSTEE OF THE UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA 1992 BENEFIT PLAN
MICHAEL H. HOLLAND; MARTY D. HUDSON; THOMAS F. CONNORS; ROBERT T. WALLACE, THIRD-PARTY-PLAINTIFFS
V.
BRUSH VALLEY COAL COMPANY; LADY JANE COLLIERIES, INC.; INTERSTATE ENERGY COMPANY; PEMICO, INC., THIRD-PARTY-DEFENDANTS
PENNSYLVANIA MINES CORPORATION; LADY JANE COLLIERIES, INC. AND INTERSTATE ENERGY COMPANY, APPELLANTS

PENNSYLVANIA MINES CORPORATION
V.
MICHAEL H. HOLLAND, TRUSTEE OF THE UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA 1974 PENSION PLAN; TRUSTEE OF THE UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA 1992 BENEFIT PLAN; TRUSTEE OF THE UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA 1993 BENEFIT PLAN; DONALD E. PIERCE, JR., TRUSTEE OF THE UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA 1974 PENSION PLAN; TRUSTEE OF THE UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA 1993 BENEFIT PLAN; ELLIOT A. SEGAL, TRUSTEE OF THE UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA 1974 PENSION PLAN; TRUSTEE

OF THE UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA 1993 PENSION PLAN; JOSEPH J. STAHL, II, TRUSTEE OF THE UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA 1974 PENSION PLAN; MARTY D. HUDSON, TRUSTEE OF THE UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA 1992 BENEFIT PLAN; THOMAS F. CONNORS, TRUSTEE OF THE UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA 1992 BENEFIT PLAN; TRUSTEE OF THE UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA 1993 BENEFIT PLAN; ROBERT T. WALLACE, TRUSTEE OF THE UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA 1992 BENEFIT PLAN

MICHAEL H. HOLLAND; MARTY D. HUDSON; THOMAS F. CONNORS; ROBERT T. WALLACE, THIRD-PARTY-PLAINTIFFS THIRD-PARTY-DEFENDANTS

UNITED MINE WORKERS OF AMERICA 1992 BENEFIT PLAN AND ITS TRUSTEES, & MICHAEL H. HOLLAND; ELLIOTT A. SEGAL; MARTY D. HUDSON AND A. FRANK DUNHAM, APPELLANTS

Nos. 98-3610 and 98-3642

U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit

Argued: July 13, 1999
Decided: November 22, 1999

ON APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA, (Civ. No. 97-00042-j) District Judge: The Honorable D. Brooks SmithPennsylvania Power & Light Company Andrew K. Williams Two North 9th Street Allentown, PA 18101 Babst, Calland, Clements & Zomnir David J. Laurent (argued) Two Gateway Center 8th Floor Pittsburgh, PA 15222 Counsel for Appellant and Cross- Appellees, Pennsylvania Mines Corporation, Brush Valley Coal Co., Lady Jane Collieries, Interstate Energy and Pemico, Inc.

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius Peter Buscemi Marilyn L. Baker (argued) 1800 M Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036 Counsel for Appellees, Michael H. Holland, Trustee of the United Mine Workers of America 1974 Pension Plan; Trustee of the United Mine Workers of America 1992 Benefit Plan; Trustee of the United Mine Workers of America 1993 Benefit Plan, Donald E. Pierce, Jr., Trustee of the United Mine Workers of America 1974 Pension Plan; Trustee of the United Mine Workers of America 1993 Benefit Plan, Elliott A. Segal, Trustee of the United Mine Workers of America 1974 Plan; Trustee of the United Mine Workers of America 1993 Pension Plan, Joseph Stahl, II, Trustee of the United Mine Workers of America 1974 Pension Plan, Marty D. Hudson, Trustee of the United Mine Workers of America 1992 Benefit Plan, Thomas F. Connors, Trustee of the United Mine Workers of America 1992 Benefit Plan; Trustee of the United Mine Workers of America 1993 Benefit Plan, Robert Wallace, Trustee of the United Mine Workers of America 1992 Benefit Plan

Before: Greenberg and Alito, Circuit Judges, and Rosenn, Senior Circuit Judge

OPINION OF THE COURT

Per Curiam

Pennsylvania Mines Corporation ("PMC") appeals a judgment declaring it responsible for providing health benefits for certain of its former employees, coal miners who are now disabled. The main issue in this appeal is whether these miners are eligible to receive health benefits under the Coal Industry Retiree Health Benefit (Coal) Act of 1992, 26 U.S.C.A. §§ 9701-22 (West Supp. 1999). The chief issue before us was addressed in recent decisions of the Fourth and District of Columbia Circuits. See Penn Allegh Coal Co. v. Holland, 183 F.3d 860 (D.C. Cir. 1999); Holland v. Big River Minerals Corp., 181 F.3d 597 (4th Cir. 1999). We follow these decisions and affirm the judgment of the District Court.

I.

A.

The provision of pension and health benefits to coal miners has a long and involved history, which has been chronicled by both the Supreme Court, see Eastern Enterprises v. Apfel, 118 S. Ct. 2131 (1998) (plurality opinion), and by various courts of appeals, see, e.g., Anker Energy Corp. v. Consolidation Coal Co., 177 F.3d 161 (3d Cir. 1999); Holland v. Big River Minerals Corp., 181 F.3d 597 (4th Cir. 1999). Because an understanding of the labor agreements governing mine workers' health and pension benefits provides important background information, we summarize them briefly below.

In 1947, the United Mine Workers of America ("UMWA") and the Bituminous Coal Operators' Association ("BCOA"), a multiemployer group of coal producers, agreed upon the first of a series of National Bituminous Coal Wage Agreements ("NBCWA's") to settle a nationwide coal strike. See, e.g., Eastern Enterprises, 118 S. Ct. at 2137; Anker Energy Corp., 177 F.3d at 164; Unity Real Estate Co. v. Hudson, 178 F.3d 649, 653 (3d Cir. 1999). These NBCWA's set the terms and conditions of employment in the coal industry and provided health and pension benefits for miners. See Anker Energy Corp., 177 F.3d at 164. The 1947 NBCWA was modified in 1950. Both the 1947 and the 1950 NBCWA's were financed by a per-ton levy on coal produced by signatory operators--that is, those bituminous coal producers who, through the BCOA, were subject to the NBCWA. Neither agreement promised specific benefits; rather, the benefits were subject to cancellation or change depending on the discretionary judgment of the NBCWA's trustees. See Eastern Enterprises, 118 S. Ct. at 2138; Anker Energy Corp., 177 F.3d at 165.

The 1950 NBCWA remained largely unaltered until 1974, when, partially in response to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) of 1974, 29 U.S.C.

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Related

Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. v. Bruch
489 U.S. 101 (Supreme Court, 1989)
Eastern Enterprises v. Apfel
524 U.S. 498 (Supreme Court, 1998)
Penn Allegh Coal Co v. Holland, Michael H.
183 F.3d 860 (D.C. Circuit, 1999)
Unity Real Estate Company, No. 97-3234 v. Marty D. Hudson Michael H. Holland Thomas O.S. Rand Elliott A. Segal Carlton R. Sickles Gail R. Wilensky William P. Hopgood Trustees of the United Mine Workers of America Combined Benefit Fund Thomas F. Connors Robert Wallace Trustees of the 1992 United Mine Workers of America Benefit Plan United States of America (Intervenor in District Court), Ltv Corporation (Ltv), Nacco Industries, Inc. (Nacco) Amicus Curiae. Barnes and Tucker Company, No. 97-3236 v. Marty D. Hudson, Trustee of the United Mine Workers of America Combined Benefit Fund and Trustee of the 1992 United Mine Workers of America Benefit Plan Michael H. Holland, Trustee of the United Mine Workers of America Combined Benefit Fund and Trustee of the 1992 United Mine Workers of America Benefit Plan Thomas O.S. Rand, Trustee of the United Mine Workers of America Combined Benefit Fund Elliott A. Segal, Trustee of the United Mine Workers of America Combined Benefit Fund Carlton R. Sickles, Trustee of the United Mine Workers of America Combined Benefit Fund Gail R. Wilensky, Trustee of the United Mine Workers of America Combined Benefit Fund William P. Hopgood, Trustee of the United Mine Workers of America Combined Benefit Fund Thomas F. Connors, Trustee of the 1992 United Mine Workers of America Benefit Plan Robert G. Wallace, Trustee of the 1992 United Mine Workers of America Benefit Plan United States of America (Intervenor in the District Court), Ltv Corporation (Ltv), Nacco Industries, Inc. (Nacco) Amicus Curiae
178 F.3d 649 (Third Circuit, 1999)
Holland v. Big River Minerals Corp.
181 F.3d 597 (Fourth Circuit, 1999)
Pennsylvania Mines Corp. v. Holland
197 F.3d 114 (Third Circuit, 1999)

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197 F.3d 114, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pennsylvania-mines-corporation-v-michael-h-holland-ca3-1999.