Argument of Speaker
Mr. Speaker: The opinion of the Court No. 00-1307, Barnhart versus Sigmon Coal Co. will be announced by Justice Thomas.
Argument of Justice Thomas
Mr. Thomas: This case comes to us on a writ of certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
The Coal Industry Retirement Health Benefit Act of 1992 charges petitioner, the Commissioner of Social Security with the task of assigning fiscal responsibility for the health benefits of Coal Industry Retirees who worked for signatory operators.
Signatory operators are those coal operators that are signatories to coal wage agreements that require contributions to the 1950 or the 1974 benefits plans.
The commissioner assigned responsibility for the health benefits of 86 retired coal miners to respondent Jericol Coal Mining Company on the basis that Jericol was a successor in interest to an out-of-business signatory operator that had employed the retired miners.
Jericol and respondents Sigmon are related person under the Act challenge these assignments arguing that the Coal Act does not permit the Commissioner to assign retired miners to successors in interest to out-of-business signatory operators.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit agreed with Jericol.
In an opinion filed with the Clerk today, we affirm.
The statute carefully delineates which entities are responsible for the health benefits of retired miners.
It requires the Commissioner to assign responsibility for the benefits of retired miners to one of three categories of signatory operators or where a signatory operator is no longer in business to a defined group of related persons to that signatory operator.
The commissioner contends that Jericol qualifies as a related person because it is a successor in interest to the signatory operator that employed the retired miners.
We disagree.
Under the Act an entity qualifies as a related person if that entity is: one, a member of the controlled group of corporations that includes the signatory operator; two, a trade or business that is under common control with the signatory operator; or three, a trade or business that has a partnership interest or joint venture with the signatory operator.
A successor in interest to an entity described in the three categories also qualifies as a related person.
Jericol is neither an entity described in those three categories nor a successor in interest to any such entity because the statute is explicit as to who may be assigned liability for beneficiaries and neither the related persons provisions nor any other provision states that such successors in interests to signatory operators may be assigned the liability.
The unambiguous statutory text precludes the assignment of these retired miners to Jericol.
Justice Stevens has filed a dissenting opinion in which Justices O’Connor and Breyer have joined.
