Arch on the Green, Inc. v. Lawrence Groves
2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 14639
| 6th Cir. | 2014Background
- Claimant Groves: >20 years as a strip miner, heavy smoker (>50 pack-years), diagnosed with COPD and totally disabled.
- Groves filed black lung claims (1998 denied; 2006 filed; ALJ awarded benefits in 2009; Board vacated and remanded; on remand ALJ again awarded benefits; Board affirmed).
- Key medical opinions: Dr. Rasmussen (most persuasive to ALJ) attributed COPD to both smoking and coal-dust exposure (coal dust a minimal but non-de minimis contributor); Dr. Simpao supported pneumoconiosis diagnosis; other doctors disagreed and were discounted.
- Two legal causation steps at issue: (1) disease must “arise out of coal mine employment” (pneumoconiosis), and (2) pneumoconiosis must be a “substantially contributing cause” of the miner’s total disability.
- The ALJ and Board concluded Groves met both steps but used language equating “arising at least in part” and “due, in part” standards; Arch (employer) appealed, arguing standards applied were legally incorrect.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument (Groves) | Defendant's Argument (Arch) | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1) Standard for disease arising out of coal-mine employment (pneumoconiosis) | Groves: Showing coal-dust contributed "in part" to COPD satisfies § 718.203(a) | Arch: The stricter § 718.201(b) standard ("significantly related to or substantially aggravated by") should control; disease must meet that stricter test | Court: Both standards have been treated interchangeably by precedent; Southard/Cornett allow proof that coal dust contributed "at least in part"; ALJ/Board applied correct standard and substantial evidence supports legal pneumoconiosis finding |
| 2) Standard for disability causation (whether pneumoconiosis caused total disability) | Groves: ALJ and Board found Dr. Rasmussen showed pneumoconiosis contributed to disability (used "in part" / "some discernible consequence" language) | Arch: Regulations require pneumoconiosis be a "substantially contributing cause" under 20 C.F.R. § 718.204(c); earlier "in part"/"discernible consequence" tests are insufficient | Court: ALJ/Board applied an impermissibly low standard (relying on pre-amendment tests like Peabody); remand required to apply the regulatory "substantially contributing cause" standard |
| 3) Permissibility of ALJ reliance on the regulatory preamble / "regulatory intent" | Groves: ALJ reasonably consulted the preamble and medical literature to weigh conflicting medical opinions | Arch: Reliance on preamble or regulatory intent is improper or creates a miners-favoring presumption | Held: ALJ may consult the preamble as an interpretive, nonbinding resource; no indication of unlawful presumption here |
| 4) Applicability of the 15-year underground-mining presumption | Groves: (argued only cursorily) might qualify for the 15-year presumption if aboveground service is equivalent | Arch: Presumption applies only to underground mining; claimant did not prove equivalence | Held: Court declines to reach the issue (Groves waived by cursory presentation and failure to develop argument before the Board) |
Key Cases Cited
- Southard v. Director, OWCP, 732 F.2d 66 (6th Cir. 1984) (holding mine exposure need only contribute "at least in part" to pneumoconiosis under § 718.203)
- Cornett v. Benham Coal, Inc., 227 F.3d 569 (6th Cir. 2000) (equating § 718.201 and § 718.203 causation standards; exposure contributing "at least in part" suffices)
- Peabody Coal Co. v. Smith, 127 F.3d 504 (6th Cir. 1997) (pre-amendment decision adopting a de minimis/"some discernible consequence" disability-causation test)
- Island Creek Coal Co. v. Calloway, [citation="460 F. App'x 504"] (6th Cir. 2012) (holding ALJ erred by using an "in part" test instead of the post-2000 regulatory "substantially contributing cause" standard)
- A & E Coal Co. v. Adams, 694 F.3d 798 (6th Cir. 2012) (permitting ALJ use of regulatory preamble to evaluate medical evidence and credibility)