PITTSTON CO. v. U.S.

Nos. 02-2199, 02-2200, 03-1351.

368 F.3d 385 (2004)

THE PITTSTON COMPANY; Buffalo Mining Company; Clinchfield Coal Company; Eastern Coal Corporation; Elkay Mining Company; Jewell Ridge Coal Corporation; Kentland-Elkhorn Coal Corporation; Meadow River Coal Company; Pittston Coal Group; Ranger Fuel Corporation, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. UNITED STATES of America, Defendant & Third Party Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Michael H. Holland, Trustee of the United Mine Workers of America Combined Benefit Fund; United Mine Workers Of America Combined Benefit Plan; Elliot A. Segal, Trustee of the United Mine Workers of America Combined Benefit Fund; William P. Hobgood, Trustee of the United Mine Workers of America Combined Benefit Fund; Marty D. Hudson, Trustee of the United Mine Workers of America Combined Benefit Fund; Thomas O.S. Rand, 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; Carl E. Van Horn, 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, Third Party Defendants-Appellees, The Bituminous Coal Operators' Association, Incorporated, Intervenor, and International Union, United Mine Workers of America, Party in Interest. The Pittston Company; Buffalo Mining Company; Clinchfield Coal Company; Eastern Coal Corporation; Elkay Mining Company; Jewell Ridge Coal Corporation; Kentland-Elkhorn Coal Corporation; Meadow River Coal Company; Pittston Coal Group; Ranger Fuel Corporation, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. United States of America, Defendant & Third Party Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Michael H. Holland, Trustee of the United Mine Workers of America Combined Benefit Fund; United Mine Workers Of America Combined Benefit Plan; Elliot A. Segal, Trustee of the United Mine Workers of America Combined Benefit Fund; William P. Hobgood, Trustee of the United Mine Workers of America Combined Benefit Fund; Marty D. Hudson, Trustee of the United Mine Workers of America Combined Benefit Fund; Thomas O.S. Rand, 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; CARL E. VAN HORN, 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, Third Party Defendants-Appellees, The Bituminous Coal Operators' Association, Incorporated, Intervenor, and International Union, United Mine Workers of America, Party in Interest. The Pittston Company; Buffalo Mining Company; Clinchfield Coal Company; Eastern Coal Corporation; Elkay Mining Company; Jewell Ridge Coal Corporation; Kentland-Elkhorn Coal Corporation; Meadow River Coal Company; Pittston Coal Group; Ranger Fuel Corporation, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. United States of America, Defendant & Third Party Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Michael H. Holland, Trustee of the United Mine Workers of America Combined Benefit Fund; United Mine Workers Of America Combined Benefit Plan; Elliot A. Segal, Trustee of the United Mine Workers of America Combined Benefit Fund; William P. Hobgood, 4 Trustee of the United Mine Workers of America Combined Benefit Fund; Marty D. Hudson, Trustee of the United Mine Workers of America Combined Benefit Fund; Thomas O.S. Rand, 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; Carl E. Van Horn, 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, Third Party Defendants-Appellees, and The Bituminous Coal Operators' Association, Incorporated; International Union, United Mine Workers Of America, Parties in Interest. The Pittston Company; Buffalo Mining Company; Clinchfield Coal Company; Eastern Coal Corporation; Elkay Mining Company; Jewell Ridge Coal Corporation; Kentland-Elkhorn Coal Corporation; Meadow River Coal Company; Pittston Coal Group; Ranger Fuel Corporation, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. United States of America, Defendant & Third Party Plaintiff-Appellee, Michael H. Holland, Trustee of the United Mine Workers of America Combined Benefit Fund; United Mine Workers Of America Combined Benefit Plan; Elliot A. Segal, Trustee of the United Mine Workers of America Combined Benefit Fund; William P. Hobgood, Trustee of the United Mine Workers of America Combined Benefit Fund; Marty D. Hudson, Trustee of the United Mine Workers of America Combined Benefit Fund; Thomas O.S. Rand, Trustee of the 6 United Mine Workers of America Combined Benefit Fund; Gail R. Wilensky, Trustee of the United Mine Workers of America Combined Benefit Fund; Carl E. Van Horn, 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, Third Party Defendants-Appellees, and The Bituminous Coal Operators' Association, Incorporated; International Union, United Mine Workers Of America, Parties in Interest.

United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.

Argued: January 21, 2004.

Decided: May 18, 2004.


Attorney(s) appearing for the Case

ARGUED: Wade Wallihan Massie, Penn, Stuart & Eskridge, Abingdon, Virginia, for Appellants. Ara B. Gershengorn, Appellate Staff, Civil Division, United States Department of Justice, Washington, D.C., for Federal Appellee; Howard Robert Rubin, Shea & Gardner, Washington, D.C., for Appellees Trustees of the United Mine Workers of America Combined Benefit Fund and the United Mine Workers of America Combined Benefit Plan. ON BRIEF: Stephen M. Hodges, Penn, Stuart & Eskridge, Abingdon, Virginia; Gregory B. Robertson, Hunton & Williams, Richmond, Virginia; A.E. Dick Howard, Charlottesville, Virginia, for Appellants. Robert D. McCallum, Jr., Assistant Attorney General, Paul J. McNulty, United States Attorney, Mark B. Stern, Appellate Staff, Civil Division, United States Department of Justice, Washington, D.C., for Federal Appellee. D. Eugene Webb, Jr., Richard F. Hawkins, III, Troutman Sanders, L.L.P., Richmond, Virginia; Stephen J. Pollak, John Townsend Rich, Jeffrey D. Fox, Shea & Gardner, Washington, D.C., for Appellees Trustees of the United Mine Workers of America Combined Benefit Fund and the United Mine Workers of America Combined Benefit Plan. Peter Buscemi, Stanley F. Lechner, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, L.L.P., Washington, D.C., for Intervenor.

Before WILKINS, Chief Judge, and NIEMEYER and TRAXLER, Circuit Judges.


Affirmed by published opinion. Judge NIEMEYER wrote the opinion, in which Judge TRAXLER joined. Chief Judge WILKINS wrote an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part.

OPINION

NIEMEYER, Circuit Judge:

These appeals challenge the constitutionality of the Coal Industry Retiree Health Benefits Act of 1992 (the "Coal Act"), 26 U.S.C. §§ 9701-9722. In response to severe financial difficulties that were undermining the National Bituminous...

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