Opinion

John A. Taylor v. Clinchfield Coal Co. Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, United States Department of Labor

  • 895 F.2d 178
  • 1990 U.S. App. LEXIS 1384
  • 1990 WL 7471
Court
Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Filed
Feb 5, 1990
Status
Published
Author
Ervin
On the bench
Ervin, Widener, Wilkins
Cited by
27 cases
Authority
More cited than 25.6%

Reversed by Pauley v. BethEnergy Mines, Inc., 501 U.S. 680 (1991)

concluding that under § 3B1.2, it was not enough for the defendant to prove less culpability than the sole other participant, who had been the "mastermind" behind the criminal scheme

How later courts described this case

  • concluding that under § 3B1.2, it was not enough for the defendant to prove less culpability than the sole other participant, who had been the "mastermind" behind the criminal scheme
  • comparing *1488 § 410.416 and § 727.203(b)(3)
  • comparing Sec. 410.416 and Sec. 727.203(b)(3)
  • less restrictive rebuttal provisions applicable

Written by the judges who cited it.

The opinion

ERVIN, Chief Judge,

dissenting:

I respectfully dissent.

As pointed out in footnote 2, my brethren concede that their holding is inconsistent with the decision of the Sixth Circuit in Youghiogheny and Ohio Coal Co. v. Milliken, 866 F.2d 195 (6th Cir.1989). More recently, the Third Circuit has come down on the side of the Sixth in Bethenergy Mines Inc. v. Director, OWCP and Pauley, 890 F.2d 1295 (3d Cir.1989). Although the rationales employed by these two courts differ somewhat, I am more comfortable with the results they have reached than the one suggested by the majority here and by the Seventh Circuit in Taylor v. Peabody Coal Co., 892 F.2d 503 (7th Cir.1989). It seems to me that by adopting the views of the Third and Sixth Circuits concerning these murky and confusing regulations we do less violence to congressional intent, and avoid both upsetting the statutory scheme and raising due process problems. To preclude rebuttal with evidence that the miner either does not have pneu-moconiosis or that his total disability did not arise out of coal mine employment is unacceptable to me.

For the reasons articulated by our sister circuits in Milliken and Bethenergy, I would affirm the denial of benefits to Taylor.

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

A word about cookies

We need a few to keep you signed in and the library working. The rest help us see which pages people use and where they get stuck. They stay off unless you say yes.