Changzhou Hawd Flooring Co. v. United States

986 F. Supp. 2d 1372, 2014 CIT 60, 36 I.T.R.D. (BNA) 461, 2014 Ct. Intl. Trade LEXIS 57, 2014 WL 2210737
CourtUnited States Court of International Trade
DecidedMay 29, 2014
DocketSlip Op. 14-60; Court 12-00020
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 986 F. Supp. 2d 1372 (Changzhou Hawd Flooring Co. v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Court of International Trade primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Changzhou Hawd Flooring Co. v. United States, 986 F. Supp. 2d 1372, 2014 CIT 60, 36 I.T.R.D. (BNA) 461, 2014 Ct. Intl. Trade LEXIS 57, 2014 WL 2210737 (cit 2014).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

POGUE, Chief Judge:

Armstrong Wood Products (Kunshan) Co., Lumber Liquidators Services, LLC, and Home Legend, LLC (collectively “Armstrong”), 2 move for “party litigant re-designation,” from Defendant-Intervenor in (the now severed and dismissed) Court Number 11-00452 to Plaintiff-intervenor in (the now remaining) Court Number 12-00020. Armstrong’s Mot. at 2; see also supra note 1. The court construes this motion as a motion to intervene pursuant to USCIT Rule 24 in Court No. 12-00020, out of time, as Plaintiff-intervenor, and grants the motion, finding good cause for Armstrong’s late filing in the context and circumstances present here.

*1374 BACKGROUND

I. Four Initial Actions Challenging Commerce’s Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value of Multilayered Wood Flooring from the People’s Republic of China

This litigation arises from the Coalition for American Hardwood Parity’s (“CAHP”) October 21, 2010 petition to the Department of Commerce (“Commerce” or the “Department”) alleging that imports of multilayered wood flooring from the People’s Republic of China (“PRC” or “China”) were being dumped in the United States. In response, Commerce initiated an antidumping duty investigation for the period of April 1, 2010 through September 30, 2010. Multilayered Wood Flooring from the People’s Republic of China, 75 Fed.Reg. 70,714 (Dep’t Commerce Nov. 18, 2010) (initiation of antidumping duty investigation). Armstrong was not individually investigated, but qualified for a separate rate. Multilayered Wood Flooring from the People’s Republic of China, 76 Fed. Reg. 30,656, 30,661 n. 33 (Dep’t Commerce May 26, 2011) (preliminary determination of sales at less than fair value) (granting Armstrong separate rate status).

The final determination in the investigation 3 was the subject of four separate challenges before this Court, pursuant to § 516A(a)(2) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, 19 U.S.C. § 1516a(a)(2) (2006) and 28 U.S.C. § 1581(c) (2006) 4 :

(1) Coalition for American Hardwood Parity v. United States, Court Number 11-00452, brought by the Petitioner, see Compl., Ct. No. 11-00452, ECF No. 7, at ¶4;
(2) Baroque Timber Industries (Zhongshan) Co., Ltd. v. United States, Court Number 12-00007, brought by individually-investigated mandatory respondents (collectively the “Samling Group”), see Compl., Ct. No. 12-00007, ECF No. 9, at ¶ 3;
(3) Zhejiang Layo Wood Indus. Co. v. United States, Court Number 12-00013, brought by another individually-investigated mandatory respondent (“Layo Wood”), see Compl., Ct. No. 12-00013, ECF No. 9, at ¶ 1; and
(4) Changzhou Hawd Flooring Co., Ltd. v. United States, Court Number 12-00020, brought by the non-individually investigated respondents who qualified for a separate rate (“Separate Rate Respondents”), see Compl., Ct. No. 12-00020, ECF No. 9, at ¶ 1.

Armstrong was not among the plaintiffs in the separate rate respondents’ challenge and did not, at any time, formally seek to intervene as Plaintiff-Intervenor in that case. Instead, Armstrong sought and received permission to intervene as Defendant-Intervenor in Court Number 11-00452, defending the results of the investigation against the Petitioner’s challenge. Consent Mot. to Intervene [as Def.-Intervenor], Ct. No. 11-00452, ECF No. 28; Order Jan. 17, 2012, Ct. No. 11-00452, ECF No. 41 (granting Armstrong’s motion to intervene as Defendant-Intervenor). 5 *1375 Armstrong did not move to intervene, on the Plaintiffs or Defendant’s side, in any of the other three actions.

II. Consolidation Under Consolidated Court Number 12-00007

The court, after consultation with the parties, consolidated Court Numbers 11-00452, 12-00007, 12-00013, and 12-00020 into Consolidated Court No. 12-00007; the respondent plaintiffs were ordered to file a joint opening brief. Order May 31, 2012, Ct. No. 12-00007, ECF No. 37. When the respondent plaintiffs filed their Joint Motion for Judgment on the Agency Record Pursuant to Rule 56.2 in accordance with this order, Armstrong was not listed as a plaintiff respondent or as any party on that brief. See Resp’ts’ Mot. for J. on the Agency R. Pursuant to Rule 56.2, Ct. No. 12-00007, ECF No. 63.

Thereafter, the court granted Defendant’s motion to dismiss Petitioner’s challenge (Court Number 11-00452) for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Baroque, — CIT at -, 865 F.Supp.2d at 1309. Although the court certified some legal issues in that case for interlocutory appeal, 6 the Petitioner never filed an appeal. Its challenge was accordingly severed from the consolidated action, and final judgment was entered in Court No. 11-00452, dismissing the case, on November 27, 2012. Am. Order Nov. 27, 2012, Consol. Ct. No. 12-00007, ECF No. 75; Judgment, Ct. No. 11-00452, ECF No. 68.

Although Armstrong was never formally made a party to any challenge to the anti-dumping duty investigation, other than being granted Defendant-Intervenor status in the (subsequently dismissed) Petitioner’s challenge (Court No. 11-00452), and although Armstrong was not listed as a party on the respondents’ joint opening brief, Armstrong appeared on the respondents’ reply brief in the remaining consolidated action, for the first time joining the arguments made by the respondent plaintiffs in challenging (as opposed to defending, as it had done in Court No. 11-00452) the results of the investigation. See Resp’t Pis.’ Reply, Consol. Ct. No. 12-00007, ECF No. 87, at 1, 40. Thereafter, Armstrong has consistently appeared on briefing challenging Commerce’s determinations in the investigation at issue. 7

III. Court-Ordered Remand and Commerce’s Subsequent Redetermination

The court remanded the results of the antidumping duty investigation. Baroque Timber Indus. (Zhongshan) Co., Ltd. v. United States, — CIT -, 925 F.Supp.2d 1332 (2013). Commerce filed its redetermination on November 14, 2013. See Final Results of Redetermination Pursuant to Court Order, Consol. Ct. No. 12- *1376 00007, ECF No. 132 (“Redetermination ”). Commerce’s Redetermination explicitly addresses Armstrong’s challenge, during the remand proceeding, to Commerce’s calculation of the separate rate. Id.

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Changzhou Hawd Flooring, Co. v. United States
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986 F. Supp. 2d 1372, 2014 CIT 60, 36 I.T.R.D. (BNA) 461, 2014 Ct. Intl. Trade LEXIS 57, 2014 WL 2210737, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/changzhou-hawd-flooring-co-v-united-states-cit-2014.