Westmoreland Coal Co. v. Sharpe Ex Rel. Sharpe

OPINION

KING, Circuit Judge:

As recounted in our prior opinion in these Black Lung Benefits Act proceedings, see Sharpe v. Dir., OWCP, 495 F.3d 125 (4th Cir.2007) (“Sharpe I ”), coal miner William A. Sharpe was awarded total disability benefits in 1993, and received those benefits until he died in 2000. A week after Mr. Sharpe’s death, his widow, Mae Ann Sharpe, made a claim for survivor’s benefits. Within two months of Mrs. Sharpe’s claim being filed — and nearly seven years after Mr. Sharpe’s living miner’s claim was approved — liable employer Westmoreland Coal Company filed a modification…