Wilton Industries, Inc. v. U.S.
| Decision Date | 11 June 2007 |
| Docket Number | Court No. 00-11-00528.,Slip Op. 07-94. |
| Citation | 493 F.Supp.2d 1294 |
| Parties | WILTON INDUSTRIES, INC., Plaintiff, v. UNITED STATES, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. Court of International Trade |
Neville Peterson LLP (John M. Peterson, Michael T. Cone, and Maria E. Celis), for Plaintiff.
Peter D. Keisler, Assistant Attorney General; Barbara S. Williams, Attorney in Charge, International Trade Field Office, Commercial Litigation Branch, Civil Division, U.S. Department of Justice (Mikki Graves Walser); Yelena Slepak, Office of the Assistant Chief Counsel, International Trade Litigation, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, of Counsel; for Defendant.
At stake in this action is the tariff classification of more than 280 articles imported by plaintiff Wilton Industries, Inc. — including cake toppers, as well as wedding cake figurine/topper bases, separator plates, pillars, columns, plate legs, and plate pegs; wedding cake fresh flower holders, inserts, and bowls; place card holders; various models and styles of bakeware; cookie cutters and cookie stamps; cake picks; and cake presses and cooking tools. The merchandise was imported from the People's Republic of China through the Port of Chicago between May 5, 1999 and July 22, 1999. All entries were liquidated between March 17, 2000 and June 2, 2000.
Over the course of litigation, the parties have reached agreement on the classification of 123 articles. See Stipulation (Oct. 16, 2002).1 In addition, Wilton has abandoned its claims as to another 15 articles. See Plaintiff's Amended Statement of Material Facts As To Which No Genuine Issue Exists ¶¶ 2-6.
Now pending before the Court are the parties' cross-motions for summary judgment as to the 158 articles still at issue. Wilton contends that all remaining merchandise is properly classifiable as "festive articles" under heading 9505 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States ("HTSUS"),2 duty-free. See generally Memorandum in Support of Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment ("Pl.'s Brief'); Memorandum in Opposition to Defendant's Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment ("Pl.'s Reply Brief"); Supplement to Plaintiff's Memorandum of Points and Authorities ("Pl.'s Supp. Brief"); Plaintiff's Response to Defendant's Supplemental Memorandum ("Pl.'s Supp. Reply Brief").
According to the Government, however, the U.S. Customs Service properly classified the remaining merchandise under HTSUS heading 3924, heading 3926, heading 7615, or heading 7323 (depending on the item at issue),3 liquidating it at rates of duty ranging from 3.1% to 6.5% ad valorem. See generally Defendant's Opposition to Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment and Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment ("Def.'s Brief"); Defendant's Reply to Plaintiff's Opposition to Defendant's Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment ("Def.'s Reply Brief"); Defendant's Supplemental Memorandum in Opposition to Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment and In Support of Defendant's Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment ("Def.'s Supp. Brief"); Defendant's Reply to Plaintiff's Supplement to Plaintiff's Memorandum of Points and Authorities ("Def.'s Supp. Reply Brief").
For the reasons set forth below, both Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment and Defendant's Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment are granted in part and denied in part.
On its website — an online paradise for the aspiring Martha Stewarts of the world — plaintiff Wilton Industries, Inc. promotes itself as "the number one preferred brand name in baking and cake decorating products for over 50 years."4 Wilton is both a retailer (selling directly to the public, through its Online Store and its catalog, the "Yearbook of Cake Decorating") and a wholesaler (selling to general merchandise and specialty stores, such as Target, Wal-Mart, and Michael's).5
Wilton sells the imported merchandise at issue (described in greater detail below) as seasonal goods, and as goods associated with certain special occasions. All of the merchandise is imported and sold only in conjunction with holidays or other special occasions. Many of the items are marketed in connection with a particular holiday — such as Christmas, Valentine's Day, or. Halloween — and are designed and intended specifically for use in celebration of that holiday. Other goods are marketed for so-called "private festive occasions," such as birthdays, or weddings and anniversaries, and are similarly designed and intended specifically for use on such an occasion.
The merchandise that Wilton sells in connection with a holiday (such as Christmas, Valentine's Day, or Halloween) is advertised and marketed in the appropriate section of the "Seasonal Shop" of Wilton's Online Store (e.g., the Christmas, Valentine's Day, Or Halloween section), and in the appropriate section of Wilton's Yearbook catalog (e.g., the Christmas, Valentine's Day, or Halloween, section). In stores such as Target, Wal-Mart, and Michael's, such holiday merchandise is displayed and sold in the seasonal section or festive products section of the store. The stores display the holiday merchandise only in the weeks immediately preceding the holiday with which the merchandise is associated. Thus, for example, shoppers will not find Christmas tree cookie cutters or Santa-shaped baking pans on display in stores in the summer months, Nor does Wilton offer such merchandise in its Online Store or its Yearbook catalog, except in the Christmas sections. In Wilton's Online Store, in its Yearbook catalog, and in the retail stores that carry Wilton's merchandise (e.g., Target, Wal-Mart, and Michael's), Wilton's holiday-specific merchandise is displayed and marketed alongside other holiday merchandise, including festive cookware, kitchenware, and bakeware (such as Halloween cookie jars, Christmas dinnerware, or Valentine's Day mugs, depending on the holiday season).
Merchandise like the non-holiday merchandise at issue — wedding and anniversary merchandise, and birthday and other non-holiday bakeware, for example — is advertised and marketed in the "Wedding Shop," the "Theme & Character Shop," or the "Novelty Shaped Pans" section of the "Bakeware Shop" of Wilton's Online Store, and in the "Wedding," "Famous Characters," or "Novelty Pans" section of Wilton's Yearbook catalog (as appropriate). Stores such as Target, Wal-Mart, and Michael's display such merchandise yearround in the "wedding" and/or the "birthday" or "party goods" sections of their stores (as appropriate).
As described in greater detail below, the remaining merchandise at issue includes various styles of wedding cake separator plates, pillars and columns, and plate legs; Cherub Place Card Holders; several dozen different items of bakeware, as well as cookie cutters and cookie stamps; and certain cake press sets.
Wedding Cake Separator Plates, Pillars/Columns, and Plate Legs. The wedding merchandise remaining at issue consists of wedding cake "separator plates," pillars and columns, and separator plate "legs." All of the items are made of plastic, and are designed to be used together to separate the tiers of a multi-tiered wedding cake, to enhance the cake's appearance and appeal at wedding celebrations.6
Separator plates support each of the tiers of a multi-tiered wedding cake. The separator plates are typically round (ranging from six to eighteen inches in diameter), but also come in other shapes, including square, hexagon, oval, and heartshaped. A separator plate can be converted to a "base plate" (used to support the bottom tier of a cake, generally the largest of the tiers) by the addition of one-inch plate "legs." Plate "pegs" — which are no longer at issue in this action — are used to anchor the cake tiers themselves to the separator plates, and to prevent the tiers of the cake from slipping off the separator plates when the cake is cut. The coordinating pillars and columns range from three to eleven inches tall, and are designed to snap onto the undersides of the separator plates, to separate and support each tier of the wedding cake.
Because they are visible parts of a tiered wedding cake as it is presented, items such as separator plates, pillars and columns, and plate legs must be not only strong, but also aesthetically pleasing. Thus, descriptions of the items emphasize their beauty, as well as their strength and their stability. And, while the separator plates, pillars and columns, and plate legs are actually made of plastic (and thus are inexpensive enough to be disposable), they are designed to look like they are made from finely-cut crystal and other expensive materials. They are also sold in several different styles (some elegantly simple and others more ornate, some traditional and others more modern), to coordinate with one another,7 and to appeal to the differing personal tastes of bridal couples by enhancing whatever overall look they are seeking to create with their wedding cake.
Although Wilton claims that the merchandise is properly classifiable as "festive articles" under. HTSUS heading 9505, Customs liquidated the wedding cake separator plates, pillars, and columns as "Tableware, kitchenware, other household articles and toilet articles, of plastics: Tableware and kitchenware: Plates, cups, saucers, soup bowls, cereal bowls, sugar bowls, creamers, gravy boats, serving dishes and platters" and "Tableware, kitchenware, other household articles and toilet articles, of plastics: Tableware and kitchenware: Other," under subheadings 3924.10.20 and 3924.10.50, respectively. The plate legs were liquidated as "Other articles of plastics ...: Other: Other," under subheading 3926.90.98.8
Cherub Place Card Holders. Wilton's Cherub Place Card Holders are classic, bisque white cherub figurines (approximately three-and-one-half inches tall), designed for use at wedding receptions to hold place cards designating guests' seating...
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