Sopha v. OSHA: Court Finds Claims Precluded and Bars Pro Se Corporate Filing

Background

Ryan A. Sopha owned A&A Environmental Services, Inc., an environmental remediation company in Wisconsin. On April 19, 2016, employees of a related company, A&A Environmental, Inc., experienced carbon monoxide exposure while removing asbestos at a job site in New Glarus, Wisconsin. The following day, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) began an investigation. OSHA later issued a citation to A&A Environmental Services rather than A&A Environmental, assessing penalties totaling $243,716 for willful exposure of workers to carbon monoxide and asbestos hazards. The citation was accompanied by a press release naming A&A Environmental Services as the violator.

Sopha attended an informal conference with OSHA on November 2, 2016, asserting that his company was not responsible for the incident and that OSHA had cited the wrong entity. OSHA declined to withdraw or amend the citation. After A&A Services filed a Notice of Contest, OSHA suspended proceedings and later ordered the citation’s expungement in 2017. However, the citation and press release were reposted on an OSHA website in 2021.

District Court Proceedings

In 2024, Sopha and A&A Environmental Services filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin against the United States, OSHA, and two OSHA officials, alleging defamation, malicious prosecution, abuse of process, and denial of equal protection. The defendants moved to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), arguing claim preclusion and lack of legal representation for the corporate plaintiff.

The court first addressed representation, noting that corporations must be represented by licensed counsel to appear in federal court under 28 U.S.C. § 1654. Despite being informed of this requirement, A&A Services had not obtained counsel. As a result, the court dismissed all claims brought by A&A Services.

Legal Analysis

The court then turned to Sopha’s individual claims. It held that the doctrine of claim preclusion barred the lawsuit because Sopha had previously litigated the same issues in an earlier case, A&A Environmental Services, Inc. v. United States (W.D. Wis. 2021). The prior case involved identical facts, parties, and allegations related to the same OSHA citation, and had been dismissed with prejudice for failure to state a claim. Because that dismissal constituted a final judgment on the merits, the present case was barred.

Sopha argued that OSHA’s 2021 reposting of the citation reset the statute of limitations and justified refiling his claims. The court rejected this argument, noting that the earlier case had addressed the same issue and found that republication did not support a malicious prosecution claim. The court further explained that even if OSHA’s actions caused reputational harm, the proper remedy would have been an appeal of the earlier decision.

Finally, Sopha argued that the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) waived sovereign immunity for OSHA’s conduct. He cited Nguyen v. United States (11th Cir. 2009), where the FTCA’s law enforcement exception applied to DEA agents. The court distinguished that case, finding that OSHA officials are not “investigative or law enforcement officers” authorized to execute searches or make arrests under 28 U.S.C. § 2680(h). Therefore, the United States retained immunity from Sopha’s claims.

Court’s Ruling

On September 19, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss. The court ruled that A&A Environmental Services’ claims could not proceed without counsel and that Sopha’s personal claims were barred by claim preclusion. It further found that sovereign immunity prevented recovery under the FTCA. The case was dismissed with prejudice, and final judgment was entered for the defendants.

Assistance with OSHA Safety Matters

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