JVC Co. of America v. U.S.

• Court: United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
• Writing for the Court: Before LOURIE, RADER, and LINN; LOURIE
• Citation: 234 F.3d 1348
• Parties: (Fed. Cir. 2000) JVC COMPANY OF AMERICA, DIVISION OF US JVC CORPORATION, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. UNITED STATES, Defendant-Appellee. 00-1028 DECIDED:
• Decision Date: 21 November 2000

Page 1348

234 F.3d 1348 (Fed. Cir. 2000) JVC COMPANY OF AMERICA, DIVISION OF US JVC CORPORATION, Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
UNITED STATES, Defendant-Appellee. 00-1028 United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit DECIDED: November 21, 2000

Appealed from: United States Court of International Trade Chief Judge Gregory W. Carman

Page 1349

Jack D. Mlawski, Galvin & Mlawski, of New York, New York, argued for plaintiff-appellant.

Amy M. Rubin, Trial Attorney, International Trade Field Office, Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Civil Division, Department of Justice, of New York, New York, argued for defendant-appellee. With her on the brief were David W. Ogden, Assistant Attorney General; David M. Cohen, Director, of Washington, DC; andJoseph I. Liebman, Attorney in Charge, International Trade Field Office. Of counsel on the brief was Beth C. Brotman, Attorney, U.S. Customs Service, International Trade Litigation, of New York, New York.

Before LOURIE, RADER, and LINN, Circuit Judges.

LOURIE, Circuit Judge.

JVC Company of America ("JVC") appeals from the decision of the United States Court of International Trade denying JVC's motion for summary judgment and granting the government's cross-motion

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for summary judgment that United States Customs Service ("Customs") properly classified JVC's imported video camera recorders under subheading 8525.30.00 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, 19 U.S.C. § 1202 (1988) ("HTSUS"). JVC Co. of Am., Div. of U.S. JVC Corp. v. United States, 62 F. Supp. 2d 1132 (Ct. Int'l Trade 1999). Because we conclude that the Court of International Trade did not err in determining that Customs correctly classified the merchandise at issue, we affirm.

BACKGROUND

The imported goods at issue in this case are video camera recorders, otherwise known as camcorders, which were imported by JVC in 1992.¹ JVC, 62 F. Supp. 2d at 1133. The parties agree that JVC's camcorders are "electrical machine[s] or apparatus possessing two independent functions generally used in conjunction with one another; a television camera and a video tape recorder." Id. Customs classified the camcorders under subheading 8525.30.00, under the broader heading of 8525 of the HTSUS, as "television cameras," dutiable at a rate of 4.2 ad valorem. Id. at 1134. Heading 8525 and subheading 8525.30.00 read as follows:

8525Transmission apparatus for radiotelephony, radiotelegraphy, radiobroadcasting or television, whether or not incorporating reception apparatus or sound recording or reproducing apparatus; television cameras:

. . . .

8525.30.00Television cameras

HTSUS, heading 8525 (1992).

JVC timely protested Customs' classification and paid all of the liquidated duties that were due. JVC, 62 F. Supp. 2d at 1134. JVC then challenged Customs' classification in the Court of International Trade, arguing that its camcorders should have been classified under subheading 8543.80.90. Heading 8543 and subheadings 8543.80 and 8543.80.90 read as follows:

8543 Electrical machines and apparatus, having individual functions, not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter; parts thereof:

. . . .

8543.80 Other machines and apparatus:

. . . .

8543.80.90 Other

HTSUS, heading 8543. JVC alternatively argued that its camcorders should have been classified under subheading 8479.89.90. JVC, 62 F. Supp. 2d at 1134. Heading 8479 and subheadings 8479.89 and 8479.89.90 read as follows:

8479Machines and mechanical appliances having individual functions, not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter; parts thereof:

. . . .

Other machines and mechanical appliances:

. . . .

8479.89 Other:

. . . .

8479.89.80 Other

HTSUS, heading 8479. Merchandise classified under subheadings 8543.80.90 and 8479.89.90 are dutiable at the respective rates of 3.9% and 3.7% ad valorem. JVC, 62 F. Supp. 2d at 1134.

Both parties moved for summary judgment, arguing that there were no genuine issues of material fact in dispute. Id. at 1136. The Court of International Trade denied JVC's motion for summary judgment and granted the government's corresponding cross-motion, holding that Customs had correctly classified JVC's camcorders under subheading 8525.30.00 as "television cameras." Id. at 1139.

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The court concluded that JVC's camcorders were prima facie classifiable under heading 8525 as "television cameras." Id. at 1138. The court also concluded that this court's holding in Sears Roebuck & Co. v. United States, 22 F.3d 1082 (Fed. Cir. 1994), was not dispositive in this case, as Sears was decided under the Tariff Schedules of the United States ("TSUS"), not the HTSUS. JVC, 62 F. Supp. 2d at 1138. The court further concluded that JVC's proposed alternative headings were inappropriate because the merchandise at issue fell within the scope of heading 8525, which was more specific than either of the headings proposed by JVC. Id. at 1138-39.

JVC timely appealed to this court. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1295(a)(5) (1994).

DISCUSSION

We review the Court of International Trade's grant of summary judgment for correctness as a matter of law, deciding de novo whether genuine issues of material fact existed and whether the moving party was entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Carl Zeiss, Inc. v. United States, 195 F.3d 1375, 1378 (Fed. Cir. 1999). In reviewing a denial of a motion for summary judgment, "we give considerable deference to the trial court, and will not disturb the trial court's denial of summary judgment unless we find that the court has indeed abused its discretion." Elekta Instrument S.A. v. O.U.R. Scientific Int'l, Inc., 242 F.3d 1302, 1306, 54 USPQ2d 1910, 1912 (Fed. Cir. 2000). When both parties move for summary judgment, the court must evaluate each motion on its own merits, resolving all reasonable inferences against the party whose motion is under consideration. McKay v. United States, 199 F.3d 1376, 1380 (Fed. Cir. 1999).

Determining the meaning of a tariff term in the HTSUS is an issue of statutory interpretation and thus a question of law. Nissho Iwai Am. Corp. v. United States, 143 F.3d 1470, 1472 (Fed. Cir. 1998). If an HTSUS provision is ambiguous and Customs issues a regulation that "fills a gap or defines a term in a way that is reasonable in light of the legislature's revealed design," Customs' interpretation is entitled to deference under Chevron U.S.A. Inc. v. Natural Resource Defense Council, Inc., 465 U.S. 837, 844 (1994). United States v. Haggar Apparel Co., 526 U.S. 380, 392 (1999). However, in the absence of such a regulation, this court has held that Chevron deference does not extend to Customs' interpretation in an ordinary classification ruling. Mead Corp. v. United States, 185 F.3d 1304, 1306 (Fed. Cir. 1999), cert. granted, 68 U.S.L.W. 3566 (U.S. May 30, 2000) (No. 99-1434).²

Determining whether a particular imported item falls within the scope of the various classifications, as properly construed, is a question of fact. Carl Zeiss, 195 F.3d at 1378. In this case, because the structure and use of the imported camcorders are not in dispute, and Customs has not promulgated any regulations interpreting the tariff terms at issue, our analysis of whether the imported merchandise has been properly classified turns on the determination of the proper meaning and scope of the relevant tariff classifications. Id.

JVC argues that the Court of International Trade erred in concluding that Customs properly classified the subject merchandise under subheading 8525.30.00. JVC argues that camcorders are not classifiable under heading 8525 because they do not fall within the common meaning of the term "television cameras." JVC asserts that a camcorder is by definition a

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combined television camera and videocassette recorder. JVC further asserts that because camcorders have two co-equal and independent functions, a camcorder is "more than" a television camera, and therefore is not classifiable as one. JVC also argues that this court's previous determination of the common meaning of the term "television camera" in Sears is controlling because the relevant tariff terms under the TSUS and HTSUS are identical. Finally, JVC argues that, because camcorders are not prima facie classifiable under heading 8525 and are instead described under its proposed alternative headings, they should be classified under either subheading 8543.80.90 or 8479.89.90.

The government responds that the Court of International Trade correctly affirmed Customs' classification of JVC's camcorders under subheading 8525.30.00. The government asserts that camcorders fall within the common meaning of "television cameras," and that as an eo nomine provision, heading 8525 includes all forms of television cameras. The government also contends that the Explanatory Notes to heading 8525 provide additional support for the classification of camcorders under that heading. The government further asserts that Sears is not dispositive in this case, as that decision involved the interpretation of a tariff term under the TSUS, not the HTSUS. The government further contends that the "more than" doctrine does not apply to cases arising under the HTSUS, and has been subsumed into the General Rules of Interpretation ("GRIs"). Finally, the government asserts that, while camcorders may be described by subheadings 8543.80.90 and...