United States v. DNRB, Inc.
Opinion
*1066
Eric Roach fell thirty-six feet to his death while working at a warehouse construction site in Kansas City, Missouri. Roach was not using fall-protection equipment when he fell. Following a bench trial before the district court,
1
DNRB was convicted of a Class B misdemeanor for willfully violating two safety regulations and causing Roach's death.
See
I.
DNRB first argues that the Government did not present sufficient evidence to sustain the guilty verdict. "We review the sufficiency of the evidence after a bench trial in the light most favorable to the verdict, upholding the verdict if a reasonable factfinder could find the offense proved beyond a reasonable doubt."
United States v. Iqbal
,
First, DNRB argues that it did not violate an applicable standard. Section 666(e) imposes criminal liability on "[a]ny employer who willfully violates ... [an applicable standard when] that violation caused death to any employee." Applicable regulations require employers to protect employees from fall hazards. In particular, § 1926.760(a)(l) and (b)(l) state that employees who erect steel "shall be protected from fall hazards" by personal fall-arrest systems or certain other means. A personal fall-arrest system consists of a harness and connectors used to secure a worker to an anchorage point.
*1067
Second, DNRB argues that the Government failed to prove that it willfully violated the standards. The parties agree that this element requires that DNRB "intentionally disregarded or was plainly indifferent to the requirements of the Act."
See
Valdak Corp. v. OSHA
,
Third, DNRB argues that the Government failed to prove causation. "When a crime requires not merely conduct but also a specified result of conduct, a defendant generally may not be convicted unless his conduct is both (1) the actual cause, and (2) the legal cause (often called the proximate cause) of the result."
Burrage v. United States
,
Because a reasonable factfinder could conclude that the Government proved each of the challenged elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt, DNRB's challenge *1068 to the sufficiency of the evidence fails.
II.
Next, DNRB argues that the district court erred in admitting a variety of what it describes as irrelevant, prejudicial "other-acts" evidence in violation of Federal Rule of Evidence 404(b). In particular, DNRB claims the district court improperly admitted evidence of other violations it committed at the Kansas City construction site, as well as violations from 2007 and 2015 that occurred at other sites. While other-acts evidence is not admissible "to prove a person's character in order to show that on a particular occasion the person acted in accordance with the character," it is admissible for another purpose such as proving intent or knowledge. Fed. R. Evid. 404(b). We review evidence admitted under Rule 404(b) for an abuse of discretion, reversing "only when the evidence clearly had no bearing on the case and was introduced solely to prove the defendant's propensity to commit criminal acts."
United States v. Walker
,
First, the other-acts evidence at issue here was relevant to the material issue of DNRB's knowledge and intent. As mentioned, exhibits and testimony established that Wiechens-and thus DNRB-was aware of the applicable standards and knew that Roach was not using his safety equipment. The other-acts evidence further suggested that DNRB's failure to ensure that Roach used his equipment properly was knowing rather than accidental. Second, the other-acts evidence was also similar in kind to the charged conduct. The 2007 incident involved a violation of the same regulation at issue here, and the 2015 incident likewise involved DNRB's failure to use fall-protection equipment. The remaining other-acts evidence occurred at the worksite where Roach fell. These other acts were "sufficiently similar to support an inference of criminal intent."
DNRB also argues that the Government failed to "provide reasonable notice of the general nature" of this evidence before trial.
See
*1069
Fed. R. Evid. 404(b). But we have explained that " Rule 404(b)'s notice standard is flexible because what constitutes a reasonable disclosure will depend largely on the circumstances of each case."
United States v. White
,
III.
Finally, DNRB raises several objections to its sentence. DNRB had ceased operations, and the presentence report ("PSR") indicated that DNRB would be unable to pay a fine. The Government did not object to this conclusion. Nonetheless, the district court fined DNRB the statutory maximum of $500,000.
See
DNRB makes two main arguments. First, it contends that the district court did not consider all of the
Second, DNRB challenges the imposition of the fine given the PSR's conclusion that it likely would be unable to pay. Though the guidelines do not apply to Class B misdemeanors, DNRB contends that the district court needed to make factual findings before rejecting the PSR's conclusion that it lacked an ability to pay a fine. Among other arguments, it cites Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 32(i)(3), which requires the court to rule on any disputed portion of the PSR or determine that a ruling is unnecessary. It also points to a Fifth Circuit case involving the guidelines, which states that a court should explain how a decision imposing a fine "comports with" a PSR indicating an inability to pay.
See
United States v. Pacheco-Alvarado
,
Even if DNRB is correct that these requirements are applicable here, the record shows that the district court did explain how its sentence comported with the PSR's inability-to-pay conclusion. The district court did not reject the PSR's conclusion about DNRB's ability to pay. Instead, the court acknowledged that the company
*1070
had "closed up shop" but imposed the fine anyway, "hoping they have some more corporate formalities left to pay" in light of the large sums DNRB allegedly had paid its attorneys. In other words, it chose to impose the maximum fine authorized by law despite recognizing the likelihood that DNRB might not be able to pay it. This was not plainly unreasonable.
See
United States v. Morais
,
IV.
For the above reasons, we affirm DNRB's conviction and sentence. 5
The Honorable Greg Kays, Chief Judge, United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri.
Relatedly, DNRB argues that the district court found it liable for violating a generalized supervision standard not alleged in the information, instead of convicting it for violating the specific fall-protection regulations with which it was charged. However, the district court found that DNRB violated the specific fall-protection standards alleged in the information, and it analyzed each element of § 666(e) in relation to them.
DNRB suggests that we review the 404(b) evidence admitted here
de novo
because it implicates DNRB's constitutional rights.
See
United States v. Davis
,
The Third Circuit has concluded that "the exclusion of Class B ... misdemeanors from the Guidelines provisions was intended to place those offenses entirely outside the statutory scheme" and that review therefore is conducted under pre-guidelines standards.
In re Solomon
,
DNRB presents several other arguments. For instance, it maintains that the court violated Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 17(c) by issuing third-party subpoenas related to DNRB's ability to pay, and it suggests for the first time in its reply brief that the district court failed to consider the
Reference
- Full Case Name
- UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. DNRB, INC., Doing Business as Fastrack Erectors, Defendant-Appellant.
- Cited By
- 8 cases
- Status
- Published