G & R Produce Co. v. U.S.
| Decision Date | 24 October 2002 |
| Docket Number | Court No. 96-11-02569.,SLIP OP. 02-128. |
| Citation | 245 F.Supp.2d 1304 |
| Parties | G & R PRODUCE COMPANY, et al., Plaintiffs, v. UNITED STATES of America, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. Court of International Trade |
Givens and Associates, PLLC, Houston, TX (Robert T. Givens, Scott L. Johnston), for Plaintiffs.
David W. Ogden, Assistant Attorney General; Joseph I. Liebman, Attorney in Charge, International Trade Field Office, Commercial Litigation Branch, Civil Division, Department of Justice, Amy M. Rubin, Trial Attorney; Beth C. Brotman,
This consolidated group of cases comes before the court following the refusal by the United States Customs Service ("Customs" or the "Government") to stipulate judgment in each individual matter, pursuant to the court's holding in Black & White Vegetable Co. v. United States, 125 F.Supp.2d 531 (CIT 2000). Familiarity with the court's decision in Black & White is presumed.1
As the current consolidated cases were originally suspended under Black & White, a brief summary of that case adequately describes their posture. In Black & White, plaintiff challenged Customs' refusal to reliquidate certain imported shipments of "Persian limes ." The limes were erroneously entered by the plaintiffs importer, under 0805.30.40 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States ("HTSUS"), which referred to "[L]imes (Citrus Aurantifolia)," eo nomine, at a duty rate of 2.2 cents per kilogram during 1993 and 1.9 cents per kilogram during 1994.2 Customs subsequently classified and liquidated the limes under this subheading and imposed duties accordingly. However, limes of the citrus latifolia variety, should have been entered under the subheading 0805.90.00, HTSUS, at a duty rate of .9 percent ad valorem in 1993 and duty free in 1994.3
Following Customs' denial of the plaintiffs earlier filed protest, the plaintiff moved for summary judgment, claiming that reliquidation was required under 19 U.S.C. § 1520(c) (1988) due to the mistaken classification of the limes by its import broker and Customs.4 Plaintiff claimed that Customs and its import broker were mistaken regarding the proper botanical designation for the limes and that mistake resulted in the misclassification. Customs admitted that its import specialists were also mistaken about the botanical name of the limes, but contended that the mistake was one of law, barring reliquidation under 19 U.S.C. § 1520(c). Black & White, 125 F.Supp.2d at 534.
Plaintiff was granted summary judgment because the proper taxonomical classification of an imported botanical item is a question of fact and not part of the legal analysis for classification purposes. Although a mistake of fact had been committed with regard to the proper botanical classification by both the importer and Customs, the source of the mistake was irrelevant, provided that such mistake resulted in the erroneous classification. Id.
In this case, under this motion, Customs has provided depositions, documentation, and statements to support its argument that the court's findings in Black & White are not necessarily here applicable. That evidence suggests Customs import specialists may have misclassified the subject limes due to a misapprehension of the applicable tariff provision and not a misunderstanding of the correct botanical classification. Section 1520(c) requires only that a mistake of fact by either party result in the erroneous classification of the subject goods; Customs' submitted evidence precludes the court from granting summary judgment in favor of the Plaintiffs or the Defendant.5 As it will be discussed at length below, there remains a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the Customs import specialists' mistake was factual or legal in nature. Accordingly, the case cannot be properly resolved by summary judgment based upon the evidence presented.
Summary judgment is appropriate when "the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." USCIT R. 56(c). "This may be done by producing evidence showing the lack of any genuine issue of material fact or, where the non-moving party bears the burden of proof at trial, by demonstrating that the nonmovant has failed to make a sufficient showing to establish the existence of an element essential to its case." Black & White, 125 F. Supp 2d at 536 (citing Avia Group Int'l Inc. v. L.A. Gear Cal., Inc., 853 F.2d 1557, 1560 (Fed.Cir. 1988); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 324-325, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986)).
In determining if a party has met its burden the court does not "weigh the evidence and determine the truth of the matter," but rather the court determines "whether there is a genuine issue for trial." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 249, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). The court views all evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, drawing inferences in the nonmovant's favor. United States v. Diebold, Inc., 369 U.S. 654, 655, 82 S.Ct. 993, 8 L.Ed.2d 176 (1962).
Plaintiffs assert that a remedial mistake of fact has been committed, that it is irrelevant to the court's analysis who committed the mistake, and that this case is properly disposed of by the holding in Black & White. In its Motion for Summary Judgment (the same language is employed in each of the original eleven motions), Plaintiffs assert that, "[t]he Court's finding of mistake of fact on Customs part in this regard extends to the instant case by reason of the identical circumstances ... which it shares with Black & White." Plaintiffs' Motion to Enter Judgment Pursuant to Test Case Findings ("Plaintiffs' Motion") at 2.
Plaintiffs also maintain that Customs must stipulate judgment on the consolidated cases due to the doctrine of collateral estoppel. Plaintiffs claim that the current issues were litigated fully in Black & White and that Customs had a full and fair chance to defend its position in that case.
Following the entry of judgment in Black & White, the government claims that it reviewed each of the eleven cases suspended under Black & White in order to determine whether there was any reason not to stipulate judgment. The Government says that:
In reviewing the entry papers in those cases, it became apparent that the facts underlying these other cases were not the same as those found by the Court in Black & White. Specifically, while the correct botanical name for the limes in issue did not appear on the documentation for the entries in issue in Black & White, there are many instances in which entry documentation relating to (formerly) suspended cases sets forth the correct botanical name for the Persian limes. The existence of these documents indicates that the importers and/or their brokers knew the botanical name for Persian limes at the time of entry.
Defendant's Opposition to Plaintiffs Motion to Enter Judgment Pursuant to Test Case Findings ("Defendant's Opp.") at 7.
Customs refuses to stipulate judgment based on the assertion that the mistakes committed by Plaintiffs' brokers and Customs' import specialists were legal and not factual in nature. As such, Customs claims that relief under § 1520(c) cannot lie. Customs bases its assertions on its re-review of the "entry papers from those cases combined with a re-review of the plaintiffs' discovery responses in Black & White." Id. at 11. According to Customs, these documents "strongly suggest[ ] that the limes in issue in these cases were not misclassified because anyone was mistaken as to the correct botanical name of the imported limes, but rather because everyone involved mistakenly assumed that all limes were classifiable in the only tariff provision that expressly contained the term `limes,' i.e., subheading 0805.30.40, HTSUS." Id.
IV
The authority for test case/suspension procedure is found in USCIT R. 84. Under Rule 84(b), "an action may become a test case `by order of the court upon a motion for test case designation made after issue is joined.'" Generra Sportswear, Inc. v. United States, 16 CIT 313, 314, 1992 WL 101027 (1992). In addition, "[a]n action may be suspended under a test case if the action involves a significant issue of fact or question of law which is the same as a significant issue of fact or question of law involved in the test case." USCIT R. 84(d).
The criteria and nature of test and suspended cases as articulated in Generra Sportswear, provides that:
For actions involving a common question of law or fact, the test case/suspension procedure is an available alternative to procedures permitting consolidation of actions under USCIT R. 42(a). Both consolidation and the test case/suspension procedures serve to achieve economies of time, effort and expense, and to promote uniformity of decisions ... [T]he test case and the suspended actions maintain their separate identities. The result is that the final decision in the test case is not necessarily legally binding on the suspended actions.
16 CIT at 314, 1992 WL 101027 (emphasis added).
Customs is attempting to differentiate the suspended cases and the test case based on the knowledge of the import brokers and the Customs import specialists at the time of entry, a factual inquiry. No authority was cited for the proposition that a test case holding collaterally estops either party from litigating facts differing from the test case.6
Collateral estoppel, which may preclude a...
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G & R Produce Co. v. U.S.
...to this court's holding in Black & White Vegetable Co. v. United States, 125 F.Supp.2d 531 (CIT 2000).3 The court previously opined in G & R Produce I that material facts were in issue as to whether the Customs import specialists were aware of the proper botanical classification of the lime......
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G & R Produce Co. v. U.S.
...to a misapprehension of the applicable tariff provision and not a misunderstanding of the correct botanical classification." G & R Produce, 245 F.Supp.2d at 1306. The Court of International Trade then held a trial. G & R Produce, 281 F.Supp.2d at 1323. Based on the deposition testimony of G......