USCG Administrative Law Judge Case
U.S. Coast Guard vs. Matthew Justin Thomas
Settlement approved after misconduct and law/regulation charges; sanction: 12 months suspension plus probation conditions.
Disposition
Settlement Agreement
Posture
Settlement
Sanction
Suspension
12 months outright followed by 12 months remitted on 24 months probation; 24 months outright suspension if conditions were not completed
Judge
Walter Brudzinski
What the Record Shows
Case Summary
The Coast Guard charged Matthew Justin Thomas in a July 2022 complaint seeking revocation of his Merchant Mariner Credential. The January 26, 2023 consent order states that the complaint alleged four counts of misconduct and one violation of law or regulation. The settlement agreement states that Thomas entered the agreement solely to resolve the case and did not admit liability or the complaint’s factual allegations. Under the settlement, Thomas’s credentials were suspended outright for 12 months, followed by an additional 12 months remitted on 24 months probation if conditions were completed; failure to complete the conditions would result in 24 months outright suspension.
Based on public docket metadata and available source documents. Allegations are described as allegations, not findings of fact or admissions.
Outcome
Settlement agreement approved. Thomas did not admit liability and neither admitted nor denied the complaint’s factual allegations.
Sanction: Suspension
Duration: 12 months + 24 months probation
Case Timeline
Jul 15, 2022
Complaint filed
The settlement motion states that the Coast Guard initiated the administrative proceeding by complaint seeking revocation.
Jan 26, 2023
Consent order
Judge Walter J. Brudzinski approved the settlement agreement and canceled the hearing.
Case Metadata
- Docket Number
- 2022-0282
- Enforcement Activity Number
- 7476211
- Judge
- Walter Brudzinski
- Source Era
- 1999–2022 Published Decisions
- Dispositive Order Type
- Consent Order
- Allegation
- Sexual Misconduct; Sexual Assault; Alcohol; Misconduct; Law / Regulation; Settlement
- Source wording: The consent order states that the Coast Guard complaint alleged four counts of misconduct under 46 U.S.C. § 7703(1)(B) and 46 C.F.R. § 5.27, and one count of violation of law or regulation under 46 U.S.C. § 7703(1)(A) and 46 C.F.R. § 5.33.
- Authorities Cited
- 46 U.S.C. § 7703(1)(A)46 U.S.C. § 7703(1)(B)46 C.F.R. § 5.2746 C.F.R. § 5.3333 C.F.R. § 20.502
- Coast Guard Representative
- Andrew S. Myers, Esq.; Lineka N. Quijano, Esq.
- Mariner / Respondent Counsel
D. Michael Reny, Harris, Reny, Torzewski, LPA
Respondent counsel / Consent Order / Jan 26, 2023
Sources, Context, and Method
What This Record Does and Does Not Show
Coast Guard suspension and revocation cases are administrative proceedings about a merchant mariner credential. They generally begin when a Coast Guard investigating officer files a complaint with the ALJ Docketing Center. Unless the case goes to a hearing and an ALJ finds the complaint allegations proved in a written decision and order, the allegations should be understood as allegations, not findings.
A settlement agreement or consent order can end the proceeding without an admission of the alleged conduct. This page therefore separates what the Coast Guard alleged from what an ALJ, Commandant appeal decision, default order, settlement order, dismissal, or other public record actually decided.
MLAA builds these pages from public Coast Guard ALJ docket data, official Coast Guard source documents, preserved docket-source proof, and available orders or decisions. We preserve source records where we can, label allegations as allegations, avoid treating docket categories as factual findings, and invite source-backed corrections when a record needs to be fixed.
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