Sims v. State of Fla., Dept. of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
| Decision Date | 02 December 1987 |
| Docket Number | No. 86-3055,86-3055 |
| Citation | 832 F.2d 1558 |
| Parties | , 56 USLW 2356, 18 Envtl. L. Rep. 20,281 Myra Holladay SIMS and Florida Import and Compliance Association, Plaintiffs- Appellees, v. STATE OF FLORIDA, DEPARTMENT OF HIGHWAY SAFETY AND MOTOR VEHICLES, Defendant- Appellant. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit |
Eric J. Taylor, Asst. Atty. Gen., Dept. of Legal Affairs, Tallahassee, Fla., for defendant-appellant.
William C. Owen, Carlton, Fields, Ward, Emmanuel, George N. Meros, Tallahassee, Fla., amicus: Fla. Auto. Dealers Ass'n.
Susan Greco Tuttle, Moffitt, Hart & Miller, Tampa, Fla., amicus: Import Auto. Dealers of Florida, Inc.
Edward T. O'Donnell, Mershon, Sawyer, Johnston, Dunwody & Cole, Miami, Fla., amicus: Mercedes-Benz of North America, Inc.
Robert P. Smith, Jr., Tallahassee, Fla., for plaintiffs-appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida.
Before TJOFLAT and HATCHETT, Circuit Judges, and EATON *, District Judge.
The State of Florida, and the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, appeal from the district court's declaration that Florida Statute Sec. 320.02(9) is unconstitutional because it is preempted under the supremacy clause and violates the commerce clause of the United States Constitution. We affirm in part and remand.
On April 30, 1985, Myra Holladay Sims imported from Europe an automobile popularly known as a "gray market" automobile. 1 "Gray market" automobiles are imported automobiles which are not designed or manufactured to comply with United States emissions and safety standards. Florida Import and Compliance Association (FICA) is a trade association whose members are directly involved in the importation of gray market automobiles.
Two federal statutes govern the importation of foreign manufactured automobiles into the United States. The Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 7522, and the Safety Act, 15 U.S.C. Sec. 1397, bar the importation of motor vehicles that do not comply with the applicable federal emissions and safety standards. Specifically, the Clean Air Act prohibits
the sale, or the offering for sale, or the introduction, or delivery for introduction, into commerce, or (in the case of any person, except as provided by regulation of the Administrator), the importation into the United States, of any new motor vehicle or new motor vehicle engine, manufactured after the effective date of regulations under this part which are applicable to such vehicle or engine unless such vehicle or engine is covered by a certificate of conformity issued (and in effect) under regulations prescribed [by this statute]. 2
42 U.S.C. Sec. 7522(a)(1). Also, under section 7522(b)(2), the statute provides that
[t]he Secretary of the Treasury and the Administrator [of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ] may, by joint regulation provide for deferring final determination as to admission and authorizing the delivery of such a motor vehicle Similarly, the Safety Act provides that "[n]o person shall manufacture for sale, sell, offer for sale, or introduce or deliver for introduction in interstate commerce, or import into the United States, any motor vehicle [unless it is in conformity with applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards]." 15 U.S.C. Sec. 1397(a)(1)(A). In addition, that statute provides as follows:
or engine offered for import to the owner or consignee thereof upon such terms and conditions (including the furnishing of a bond) as may appear to them appropriate to ensure that any such motor vehicle or engine will be brought into conformity with the standards, requirements, and limitations applicable to it under this part. The Secretary of the Treasury shall, if a motor vehicle or engine is finally refused admission under this paragraph, cause disposition thereof in accordance with the customs laws unless it is exported, under regulations prescribed by such Secretary, within ninety days of the date of notice of such refusal or such additional time as may be permitted pursuant to such regulations, except that disposition in accordance with the customs laws may not be made in such manner as may result, directly or indirectly, in the sale, to the ultimate customer, of a new motor vehicle or new motor vehicle engine that fails to comply with applicable standards of the Administrator under this part.
[T]he Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary [of the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, Department of Transportation (DOT) ] may, by ... regulations, provide for authorizing the importation of such motor vehicle or item of motor vehicle equipment into the United States upon such terms and conditions (including the furnishing of a bond) as may appear to them appropriate to ensure that any such motor vehicle or item of motor vehicle equipment will be brought into conformity with any applicable federal motor vehicle safety standard prescribed under this subchapter, or will be exported or abandoned to the United States.
Despite general prohibitions against the importation of nonconforming motor vehicles into the United States, Congress, under the above provisions, authorized the importation of gray market vehicles upon the furnishing of a bond or other means of assuring that federal environmental and safety laws are not unlawfully circumvented. The EPA, the DOT, and the Treasury Department promulgated regulations governing the importation of gray market vehicles. See generally 19 C.F.R. Secs. 12.73, 12.80; 40 C.F.R. Part 85, Subpart P and 49 C.F.R. Part 571. Under these regulations, a gray market vehicle is conditionally admitted into the United States for the limited purpose of enabling the importer to comply with federal emissions and safety laws. The importer must post an entry bond with the United States Customs Service (Customs) for an amount equal to the value of the vehicle plus the customs duty. See Automobile Importers Compliance Association, Handbook of Vehicle Importation, 21 (1984). In addition, the importer must sign a statement indicating that the motor vehicle "is not covered by a certificate of conformity with federal motor vehicle emission standards but will be brought into conformity with such standards." 19 C.F.R. Sec. 12.73(b)(5)(x) (1986). Finally, the importer must declare that the vehicle "was not manufactured in conformity [with] all applicable safety standards, but it has been or will be brought into conformity." 19 C.F.R. Sec. 12.80(b)(1)(iii). 3 When Sim's automobile arrived at port in Jacksonville, Florida, she complied with all of the applicable federal regulations governing the importation of gray market automobiles, which included posting a bond in the requisite amount. Sims was exempt from conforming her automobile to the applicable federal emission standards and received a letter from the EPA releasing the EPA obligation on the bond. 4 In complying with the Safety Act and the DOT regulations, Sims completed the requirements under 19 C.F.R. Sec. 12.80(b)(1)(iii).
The entry bond serves as a means to enforce the importer's obligation to comply with the requirements of federal emission and safety standards. Thus, Customs will not release the bond until it receives assurance from the EPA and the DOT that the importer has complied with the standards. See 19 C.F.R. Secs. 12.73c and 12.80e.
In 1984, the Florida legislature passed the following statute concerning automobile titling and registration:
Before a motor vehicle which has not been manufactured in accordance with the federal Clean Air Act and the federal Motor Vehicle Safety Act can be sold to a consumer and titled and registered in this state, the motor vehicle must be certified by the United States Customs Service or the United States Department of Transportation and the United States Environmental Protection Agency to be in compliance with these federal standards. A vehicle which is registered pursuant to this subsection shall not be titled as a new motor vehicle.
Act approved June 11, 1984, ch. 84-155, Sec. 3, 1984 Fla.Laws 457, 458 (). This provision prevents the owner of a gray market vehicle from acquiring title and vehicle registration in Florida until the owner has obtained the required documentation from the federal government.
Subsequent to the passage of Fla.Stat. Sec. 320.02(9), Sims unsuccessfully sought to title and register her automobile at the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DMV). The DMV refused to title and register Sims's automobile because she did not produce release letters from the DOT and Customs certifying compliance with federal standards. Sims had not received a bond release letter from the DOT because of the excessive number of forms the DOT had to review. 5
Following refusal to title and register the automobile, Sims and the FICA filed suit in United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida alleging that the state's enforcement of section 320.02(9) violated the supremacy and commerce clauses of the United States Constitution: (1) the Clean Air Act and the Safety Act preempt the state's authority to require compliance with federal emission and safety standards, and (2) enforcement of section 320.02(9) places an impermissible burden on foreign and interstate commerce. The district court concluded that the Clean Air Act and Safety Act preempt the state's authority to enforce section 320.02(9) and that enforcement of the statute would violate the commerce clause. The district court declared section 320.02(9) unconstitutional and enjoined On September 29, 1986, we heard oral arguments addressing whether Fla.Stat. Sec. 320.02(9) violates the supremacy and commerce clauses of the United States Constitution. On February 18, 1987, we requested "all counsel of record" to submit supplemental briefs addressing (1) stan...
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