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Ezel / Agency Decisions / 06-1786-commission
OSHRC Commission decision Docket 06-1786, 06-1787, 06-1788 Decided July 2, 2007 Remanded

Cliffhangers, Inc.

Default set aside for settlement review

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Currency note: this decision dates from 2007
The OSHA standards may have been amended, penalty amounts have been adjusted, and later Commission or court decisions may have changed the analysis since then. Treat this page as historical context, not current compliance advice. Verify the current standard before relying on any specific rule, threshold, or penalty mentioned here.
Decision of the Commission
This is a decision of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, the highest level of agency review, citable as Commission precedent. It may have been appealed to a U.S. Court of Appeals after issuance; check subsequent history before relying on it. The full text below is from the official OSHRC release.
About this page: The plain-English summary and decision snapshot below were written by Ezel based on the official OSHRC release. The full text is the Commission's own document.
Read the official release (oshrc.gov)

Plain-English summary

A judge entered default judgment against Cliffhangers in three consolidated cases. The Secretary then filed an unopposed request asking the Commission to vacate the default and approve a signed settlement that affirmed the violations as issued but changed the penalties. Citing its policy of encouraging settlement at any stage, the Commission set aside the default order. The cases were remanded to the judge to consider the settlement agreement.

Decision snapshot

  • Cited standard(s): No specific OSHA standard number is identified in the decision.
  • Outcome: The default judgment was set aside, and all three cases were remanded for consideration of the parties' settlement.
  • Key point: The Commission may vacate a default judgment to allow a judge to review an agreed settlement.

Full text (OSHRC public release)

Cliffhangers, Inc., Docket No. 06-1786, 06-1787, 06-1788

SECRETARY OF LABOR,

Complainant,

v.

OSHRC Docket Nos. 06-1786, 06-1787 & 06-1788

CLIFFHANGERS, INC.,

Respondent.

APPEARANCES:

Constance B. Franklin, Attorney; Frank V. McDermott, Jr., Regional Solicitor;
Howard M. Radzely, Solicitor; U.S. Department of Labor, Washington,
DC                    

For the Complainant

Patrick West, pro se , President, Cliffhangers, Inc., Boston, MA                  

For the Respondent

REMAND ORDER

Before: THOMPSON, Chairman; ROGERS, Commissioner.

BY THE COMMISSION:

In an order dated May 29, 2007, Chief Administrative Law Judge Irving Sommer
entered a default judgment against Cliffhangers, Inc., in these three cases. The Secretary
has now filed an unopposed petition for discretionary review asking that the Commission
vacate the judge’s default decision and affirm a settlement agreement signed by the
parties that “affirms all violations exactly as issued and amends only the penalty
assessments.” Chairman Horace A. Thompson III directed the cases for review on June
27, 2007.

Consistent with the Commission’s policy of encouraging settlement at any stage
of the proceedings, see Commission Rule of Procedure 100(a), 29 C.F.R. § 2200.100(a),
we now set aside the judge’s default order, and remand the cases to the judge for
consideration of the settlement agreement.

SO ORDERED.

/s/

Horace A. Thompson III

Chairman

/s/

Thomasina V. Rogers

Dated: July, 2 2007                                               Commissioner

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