Lemans Corp. v. United States

• Decision Date: 03 October 2011
• Docket Number: No. 2010–1295.,2010–1295.
• Citation: 33 ITRD 1358,660 F.3d 1311
• Parties: LEMANS CORPORATION, Plaintiff–Appellant, v. UNITED STATES, Defendant–Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Federal Circuit

33 ITRD 1358

660 F.3d 1311

LEMANS CORPORATION, Plaintiff–Appellant,

v.UNITED STATES, Defendant–Appellee.

No. 2010–1295.

United States Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit.

Oct. 3, 2011.

Jessica R. Rifkin, Rodriguez O'Donnell Gonzalez & Williams, P.C., of Chicago, IL, argued for plaintiff-appellant. With her on the brief were Thomas J. O'Donnell and Rodriguez O'Donnell.

Alexander Vanderweide, Trial Attorney, International Trade Field Office, Civil Division, United States Department of Justice, of New York, NY, argued for defendant-appellee. With him on the brief were Barbara S. Williams, Attorney in Charge; and Tony West, Assistant Attorney General, and Jeanne E. Davidson, Director, Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, United States Department of Justice, of Washington, DC. Of counsel on the brief was Michael W. Heydrich, Office of Assistant Chief Counsel, International Trade Litigation, United States Customs and Border Protection, New York, NY.

Before GAJARSA,^* MAYER, and O'MALLEY, Circuit Judges.

O'MALLEY, Circuit Judge.

This is a trade case in which we are required to assess the propriety of merchandise classifications employed by United States Customs and Border Protection (“Customs”) when setting duty rates on certain products imported into the United States by LeMans Corporation (“LeMans”). LeMans appeals the decision of the Court of International Trade (“CIT”) upholding Customs' classification of LeMans's motocross jerseys, motocross pants, and motorcycle jackets (collectively, the “subject merchandise”) as apparel under Chapters 61 and 62 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”). LeMans contends that the subject merchandise should be classified as sports equipment under Chapter 95 of the HTSUS because the articles are necessary, useful, or appropriate for a sport and are specifically designed for use in a particular sport. Because we find that Customs correctly classified the subject merchandise as apparel and, thus, properly set duty rates for these LeMans imports, we affirm.

Background

A. The Subject Merchandise

LeMans imported the subject merchandise into the United States through the ports of Chicago and Los Angeles between July 20, 2004 and September 17, 2004. The merchandise consists of: (1) five different models of motocross jerseys; (2) six different models of motocross pants; and (3) four different models of motorcycle jackets. The differences in the specific models are neither significant nor relevant for this analysis, and we treat the merchandise in three broad categories: motocross jerseys, motocross pants, and motorcycle jackets. Below are the relevant features of each of the categories of articles as found by the CIT and according to the record, which are not in dispute: ¹

1. Motocross Jerseys

LeMans's motocross jerseys are made of “[s]ynthetic, abrasion-resistant mesh and ventilated knit patterned fabric, which also wicks away moisture.” LeMans Corp. v. United States, 675 F.Supp.2d 1374, 1376–77 (Ct. Int'l Trade 2010) (“ CIT Decision ”). They have “padded elbows for abrasion and impact protection and form an integrated protection system with the use of a tacky silicon print on the lower back to keep the jersey tucked into the motocross pant when riding.” Id. at 1377 (internal quotations and citation omitted). The record shows that the weight of the pads constitutes approximately ten percent of the entire weight of the jersey.

2. Motocross Pants

LeMans's motocross pants are made of

[h]eavy-duty nylon [that] provides riders with impact and abrasion protection, and the pants contain additional comfort features, such as mesh panels for venting, heat resistant inner leg areas (made of leather or man-made fibers) to prevent burns from the engine and exhaust pipe, and spandex and stretch panels to allow freedom of movement and a non-binding fit in the legs, seat, and crotch area.

Id. at 1377 (internal quotations and citations omitted). The pants contain foam padding sewn into the knee and thigh areas as well as removable foam padding. The weight of the pads is just less than fifty percent of the total weight of the pants.

3. Motorcycle Jackets

The jackets are made of “[h]eavy-duty materials,” such as heavyweight waxed cotton chassis, Dynax Nylon chassis, or knitted polyester mesh chassis, and contain molded rubber padding inserted into the elbows and shoulders as well as back pads. Id. at 1377–78 n. 6. They are intended to provide protection to riders on public streets from impact and abrasion injuries that may occur in an accident during street motorcycle riding. Id. The protectors in the jackets comprise roughly twenty to twenty-five percent of the weight of the jackets.

B. Customs' Classification

Customs classified all of the subject merchandise as wearing apparel under either Chapter 61 or 62 of the HTSUS.² Specifically, Customs classified the motocross jerseys as “Sweaters, pullovers, sweatshirts, waistcoats (vests) and similar articles, knitted or crocheted: Of manmade fibers: Other” under subheading 6110.30.30 of the HTSUS at a duty rate of 32% ad valorem. It classified the pants as “Garments, made up of fabrics of heading 5602, 5603, 5903, 5906 or 5907: Other men's or boys' garments: Of man-made fibers: Other” under subheading 6210.40.50 of the HTSUS at a duty rate of 7.1% ad valorem. And it classified the different models of motorcycle jackets in three separate provisions of Heading 6201 of the HTSUS: the Airtex Sport and Merc models under subheading 6201.93.30 (7.1% ad valorem ); the Tarmac jacket under 6201.93.35 (27.7% ad valorem ); and the Super Duty model under 6201.92.15 (6.2% ad valorem ).

LeMans filed timely protests, claiming that its merchandise is properly classifiable under Chapter 95 of the HTSUS, either under subheading 9506.91.0030 at a duty rate of 4.6% ad valorem, or under subheading 9506.99.6080 at a duty rate of 4% ad valorem. Customs denied the protests.

C. Court of International Trade Decision

LeMans initiated a civil action in the CIT contesting the denial of its protest under 19 U.S.C. § 1515. Following cross-motions for summary judgment, the CIT issued a decision affirming Customs' classification as to all goods. It did so under General Rule of Interpretation (“GRI”) 1, which requires review of the headings and relevant section and chapter notes of the HTSUS. CIT Decision, at 1385.

As for the jerseys, the CIT looked to the common dictionary definition of “sweater” and “pullover” and the Headings of 6110 to determine that the jerseys fit within the definition of those terms. Id. at 1380–81. It also reviewed the Explanatory Notes to Heading 6110 (“EN 61.10”), which add that the heading encompasses “a category of knitted or crocheted articles ... designed to cover the upper parts of the body,” specifically including “jerseys” as an example. Id. at 1381 (quoting EN 61.10).

As for the pants, the CIT again looked to the common dictionary definition of “garment” to find that LeMans's motocross pants constitute an article of clothing that covers the human body, and that the pants are made up of materials under headings 5903 and 5906 (heavy duty nylon mesh, heavy duty ballistic woven nylon fabric, heavy duty woven polyester, and Keprotec®). Id. at 1381–82. Finally, the court affirmed Customs' classification of LeMans's motorcycle jackets as “overcoats,” finding that they fit within that general category and distinguishing them from “men's or boys' suits” under Heading 6203. Id. at 1382.

The CIT also rejected LeMans's argument that its goods are prima facie classifiable as sports equipment under Heading 9506, which would require consideration of GRI 3(a) to determine which heading more specifically describes the merchandise. The court looked to the dictionary definition of “equipment” and our decision in Rollerblade, Inc. v. United States, 282 F.3d 1349, 1354 (Fed.Cir.2002), in which we stated that “ ‘equipment’ includes those articles that are necessary and specifically designed for use in athletics and other sports.” Id. at 1354. Based on these authorities and its review of the subject merchandise, the court found that, although LeMans's goods “arguably constitute[ ] useful, if not necessary, articles to motocross and motorcycle riding,” the Explanatory Notes to Heading 9506 (“EN 95.06”) demonstrate that the subject merchandise is not of the type typically classified as sports equipment. CIT Decision, at 1383–84. Those notes include, as examples of “requisites for other sports,” items such as snow skis, golf clubs, pingpong paddles, tennis rackets, basketballs, ice skates, hockey sticks, swings, and slides. See CIT Decision, at 1383 n. 15 (citing EN 95.06(B)). Although example (B)(13) of the Explanatory Notes identifies “[p]rotective equipment for sports or games, e.g., fencing masks and breast plates, elbow and knee pads, cricket pads, shin-guards,” the court found that these examples “center on non-clothing articles and do not describe apparel like the subject merchandise.” Id. at 1383–84.

The court further found that Note 1(e) to Chapter 95, which excludes “sports clothing ... of textiles, of chapter 61 or 62” from Chapter 95, also supported its conclusion. Id. at 1384. Finally, the CIT distinguished our decision in Bauer Nike Hockey USA, Inc. v. United States, 393 F.3d 1246 (Fed.Cir.2004), a case in which we found that ice-hockey pants were classifiable as sports equipment, on grounds that Bauer did not provide a broadly applicable definition of “equipment” and involved a GRI 3(a) analysis, not a GRI 1 finding. CIT Decision, at 1384–85.

LeMans filed a timely notice of appeal. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1295(a)(5).

Standard of Review

We review the CIT's grant of summary judgment on tariff classifications de novo. Cummins Inc. v. United States, 454 F.3d 1361, 1363 (Fed.Cir.2006). We employ the same standard employed by the CIT in assessing Customs' classification determinations. A classification...