Totes, Inc. v. U.S.
| Decision Date | 24 October 1995 |
| Docket Number | No. 95-1125,95-1125 |
| Citation | 69 F.3d 495 |
| Parties | TOTES, INCORPORATED, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. The UNITED STATES, Defendant-Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Federal Circuit |
George W. Thompson, Neville, Peterson & Williams, New York City, argued for plaintiff-appellant. With him on the brief were John M. Peterson and Peter J. Allen.
Amy M. Rubin, Commercial Litigation Branch, Department of Justice, New York City, argued for defendant-appellee. With her on the brief were Frank W. Hunger, Assistant Attorney General, David M. Cohen, Director, and Joseph I. Liebman, Attorney in Charge, International Trade Field Office. Of counsel was Laura R. Siegal, Office of Assistant Chief Counsel, International Trade Litigation, U.S. Customs Service.
Before ARCHER, Chief Judge, NIES, and LOURIE, Circuit Judges.
Totes, Incorporated appeals from the September 30, 1994 decision of the United States Court of International Trade granting the government's motion for summary judgment and holding that the United States Customs Service properly classified certain imported merchandise under subheading 4202.92.9020 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (1990) ("HTSUS"). Totes, Inc. v. United States, 865 F.Supp. 867 (Ct. Int'l Trade 1994). Because the court did not err in granting summary judgment, we affirm.
The "Totes Trunk Organizer" is a rectangular case used to organize and store items such as motor oil, tools, and jumper cables in an automobile trunk. The case is made of a liquid-impervious nylon fabric. It has a zippered top opening, two straps at the sides which form handles, and reinforced bottom seams. Velcro strips on the bottom surface allow the case to be secured to a carpeted surface in an automobile trunk. The case's interior may be divided into three discrete storage areas using dividers that snap into place. The exterior of the Trunk Organizer bears the name "totes AUTOMOBILE CLUB." Totes markets the product as part of its Auto Club line of automobile accessories, which also includes windshield ice scrapers, emergency lights, car window shades, and dashboard memo pads.
jewelry boxes, powder cases, cutlery cases and similar containers, of leather
or of composition leather, of plastic sheeting, of textile materials, of
vulcanized fiber, or of paperboard, or wholly or mainly covered with such
materials:
* * *
Other:
* * *
With outer surface of plastic
sheeting or of textile materials:
* * *
Other:
* * *
Other
With outer surface of
textile materials:
* * *
Other:
Totes timely filed a protest against liquidation of the merchandise, which Customs denied. Totes then challenged Customs' classification determination in the United States Court of International Trade, arguing that the product should have been classified as a motor vehicle accessory under HTSUS subheading 8708.99.50. That subheading, which carries a duty rate of 3.1% ad valorem, reads in relevant part as follows:
Parts and accessories of the motor vehicles of headings 8701 to 8705:
* * *
Other parts and accessories:
* * *
Other:
* * *
Other:
Totes and the government cross-moved for summary judgment. Applying the principle of statutory construction known as ejusdem generis ("of the same kind"), the court determined that Totes' product served the essential purposes of "organization, holding, storage and protection of articles" similar to the exemplars listed under heading 4202, "especially jewelry boxes and cutlery cases that serve mainly to facilitate an organized separation, protection, storage or holding of jewelry or cutlery...." Totes, 865 F.Supp. at 872. Thus, the court held that Customs properly classified the product as a "similar container" under subheading 4202.92.9020, HTSUS. The court further determined that the item is excluded from classification under heading 8708 based on the Explanatory Notes to HTSUS Section XVII. 1 The Explanatory Notes state that merchandise is excluded from classification as a part or accessory under any of the headings of Section XVII if the item is more specifically classifiable elsewhere in the HTSUS. Tool bags are listed in the Explanatory Notes as an example of merchandise that is more specifically classifiable under heading 4202 than under any of the headings of Section XVII. Heading 8708 is within Section XVII. The court reasoned, therefore, that items similar to tool bags, such as the Trunk Organizer, are "more specifically classifiable under the provisions for the bags, cases and similar containers in Heading 4202 even if they are principally used as motor vehicle parts or accessories within the purview of Heading 8708." Id. at 875. The court granted summary judgment for the government and dismissed the case.
Totes timely appealed to this court. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1295(a)(5) (1988).
DISCUSSION
We review the Court of International Trade's grant of summary judgment for correctness as a matter of law. Mita Copystar Am. v. United States, 21 F.3d 1079, 1082 (Fed.Cir.1994). The meaning of a tariff classification term is also a question of law Totes first argues that the Court of International Trade erred in determining that the merchandise is ejusdem generis with the exemplars named in subheading 4202.92.9020, HTSUS. Totes contends that the exemplars share the essential purpose or characteristic of being carried on the person or in a handbag, whereas the essential purpose of the Trunk Organizer is not to transport items but to organize and store items in an automobile trunk. Totes insists that, factually and legally, the present case resembles Sports Graphics, Inc. v. United States, 24 F.3d 1390 (Fed.Cir.1994), and that the trial court failed to follow our analysis in that case. The government maintains that the merchandise is ejusdem generis with the exemplars named in subheading 4202.92.9020 and thus is classifiable under that subheading. We agree with the government.
which we review de novo. Id. Determining whether merchandise comes within a particular tariff provision, as properly interpreted, is a question of fact. Marcel Watch Co. v. United States, 11 F.3d 1054, 1056 (Fed.Cir.1993). Customs' classification determination is, by statute, presumed to be correct. 28 U.S.C. Sec. 2639(a)(1) (1988). Therefore, as the party challenging the classification, Totes bears the burden of proof in this case. See id.; see also Mita Copystar, 21 F.3d at 1082
We have stated that the appropriate analysis for applying the principle of ejusdem generis is as follows:
Under the rule of ejusdem generis, which means "of the same kind," where an enumeration of specific things is followed by a general word or phrase, the general word or phrase is held to refer to things of the same kind as those specified. As applicable to classification cases, ejusdem generis requires that the imported merchandise possess the essential characteristics or purposes that unite the articles enumerated eo nomine [by name] in order to be classified under the general terms.
Sports Graphics, 24 F.3d at 1392 (citation omitted).
The trial court accordingly determined that Totes' product shares with the containers listed eo nomine in subheading 4202.92.9020 the essential characteristics of organizing, storing, protecting, and carrying various items. Totes, 865 F.Supp. at 872. We find no error in that determination. Contrary to Totes' contention, the merchandise is not removed from classification under subheading 4202.92.9020 simply because it is intended to organize, store, and protect items associated with a motor vehicle. Many of the containers named in subheading 4202.92.9020 are used to organize, store, and protect specific items. In addition, like many of the containers listed eo nomine in subheading 4202.92.9020, the Trunk Organizer has straps that allow it to be carried; thus, Totes' distinction concerning portability is unpersuasive. Accordingly, we find no error in the court's determination that Customs correctly found that the merchandise is covered by the "similar containers" term in subheading 4202.92.9020, HTSUS.
Contrary to Totes' view, our decision in Sports Graphics does not compel a different result. In that case, the merchandise at issue ("Chill" coolers) consisted of soft-sided nylon containers having foam insulation, a zippered top, and carrying straps. The Court of International Trade held that under the Tariff Schedule of the United States ("TSUS"), the coolers were "[a]rticles chiefly used for preparing, serving, or storing food or beverages" under item 772.15, TSUS, rather than "other" articles of luggage under item 706.62, TSUS. Sports Graphics, 24 F.3d at 1391. On appeal, the government argued that, based on its storage capacity, the merchandise was ejusdem generis with the luggage articles named in item 706.62, TSUS. We disagreed, finding no error in the trial court's determination that the essential purpose of the coolers was to store food or beverages in a cold environment for a period of time. Id. at 1392-93. We held that "the merchandise [had] a different purpose, the storage of food or beverage, which preclude[d] the merchandise from being ejusdem generis with the exemplars listed in the ... luggage provision." Id. at...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Avecia, Inc. v. U.S., Slip Op. 06-184. Court No. 05-00183.
...a question of fact. See, e.g. Rollerblade, Inc. v. United States, 112 F.3d 481, 483 (Fed.Cir.1997) (referencing Totes, Inc. v. United States, 69 F.3d 495, 498 (Fed.Cir.1995)); National Advanced Systems v. United States, 26 F.3d 1107, 1109 (Fed.Cir.1994). But, determining which tariff provis......
-
Michael Simon Design, Inc. v. U.S., Slip Op. 06-128. Court No. 04-00537.
...whether merchandise comes within a particular tariff provision, as properly interpreted, is a question of fact." Totes, Inc. v. United States, 69 F.3d 495, 498 (Fed.Cir.1995) (citation omitted). By statute, Customs' factual determination is presumed to be correct. Id. (citing 28 U.S.C. § 26......
-
Rubies Costume Co. v. United States
...brief. See Def.'s Suppl. Br., Ex. 1, ECF No. 41–1.33 Ejusdem generis "means 'of the same kind.' " Totes, Inc. v. United States ("Totes II "), 69 F.3d 495, 498 (Fed. Cir. 1995), aff'g Totes, Inc. v. United States ("Totes I "), 18 CIT 919, 865 F.Supp. 867 (1994).34 The rule of ejusdem generis......
-
Marcor Development Corp. v. US
...v. United States, 812 F.2d 1387 (Fed.Cir.1987); Totes Inc. v. United States, 18 CIT ___, 865 F.Supp. 867, 870 (CIT 1994), aff'd, 69 F.3d 495 (Fed.Cir.1995). In making the determination as to where plaintiff's product is properly classified under the HTSUS, the Court must consider whether "t......