E. Dillingham, Inc. v. United States

65 Cust. Ct. 224, 1970 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 3050
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedOctober 2, 1970
DocketC.D. 4082
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 65 Cust. Ct. 224 (E. Dillingham, Inc. v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Customs Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
E. Dillingham, Inc. v. United States, 65 Cust. Ct. 224, 1970 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 3050 (cusc 1970).

Opinion

Kao, Chief Judge:

The merchandise involved in this case consists of 50 pairs of molds for use with the “Bata Monoplax ‘Atlas’ Unit” for the production of plastic overshoes designated as “Susan Boots.” It was assessed with duty at 13% per centum ad valorem under paragraph 353 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as modified by the Torquay Protocol to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, 86 Treas. Dec. 121, T.D. 52739, as parts of articles having as an essential feature an electrical element or device. It is claimed to be free of duty under paragraph 1643 of said tariff act, as shoe machinery, in whole or in part. It is conceded that the classification under paragraph 353 is correct if the imported molds are not more specifically described in paragraph 1643.

The pertinent provisions of the tariff act are as follows:

Paragraph 353, Tariff Act of 1930, as modified by the Torquay Protocol to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade:

Articles having as an essential feature an electrical element or device, such as electric motors, * * *, finished or unfinished, wholly or in chief value of metal, and not specially provided for:
♦ * # * * * *
[226]*226Other (except * * *)- 13%% ad val.
Parts, finished or unfinished, wholly or in chief value of metal, not specially provided for, of articles provided for in any item 353 of this Part (not including X-ray tubes or parts thereof) -The same rate of duty as the articles of which they are parts.
Paragraph 1643, Tariff Act of 1930:
Linotype * * * machines, shoe machinery, * * *, all the foregoing whether in whole or in part, including repair parts. [Free]

A motion was made during the trial for the incorporation of the record in E. Dillingham, Inc. v. United States, 54 CCPA 121, C.A.D. 922 (1967) but, upon objection, decision was reserved. That case involved the classification of the “Bata Monoplax Process Unit ‘Atlas’ ” of which the merchandise involved herein is claimed to be parts. The issue there was whether the machine was classifiable as shoe machinery. The issue here is whether the imported molds, which are used with that machine, are classifiable as parts of shoe machinery. It appearing that there are questions of law and fact substantially the same in character as those involved in the previous case, the motion to incorporate is granted.

Plaintiff called three witnesses in the instant case, the first two of whom had also testified in the previous case: Charles Bara, Jr., who was from 1958 to 1965 assistant plant engineer of Bata Shoe Company of Belcamp, Md., and was previously employed there in the engineering division; Robert R. Petrick, who has been a shoe salesman for the Bata Shoe Company for 18 years, and Alexander Kotek, machinery development engineer in the Bata Engineering Division of Bata Shoe Company of Canada, Ltd.

According to the evidence presented, Bata Shoe Company, Inc., is the largest manufacturer of shoes in the world. It produces all kinds of shoes, including canvas, leather, waterproof, tropical, and military. Bata Shoe Company of Canada, Ltd., designs and manufactures shoe machinery including monoplax units which produce slush molded over-the-foot shoes and over-the-shoe footwear; injection molding machines which make running shoes with a canvas upper, and plastic shoes, and vulcanizing shoe machinery which makes rubber shoes and shoes with rubber bottoms and canvas, leather or man-made material uppers. The company does not produce general machinery.

[227]*227The merchandise involved herein consists of molds designed for use with the Bata Monoplax Atlas Unit at Belcamp, Md., to produce 'Susan Boots for which such molds are essential. The Susan Boot is an overshoe designed for youngsters, having a large opening at the top and a strap with a buckle up front. It can easily be slipped on. It is a plastic overshoe or galosh which is worn over the shoe and extends up over the ankle.

The Susan Boot is made from a thermo-plastic material called plas-tisol, a polyvinyl chloride in liquid form. To produce the article a mold is attached to a carrier or conveyor of the monoplax unit by means of a mounting plate. The plastic material is poured into the mold and the mold is carried on the conveyor through the various steps required to make slush molded footwear. The mold with the material therein is subjected to heat which causes the material to jell and build up on the inside of the mold. When the article has sufficient thickness the excess of the material is poured out of the mold and the mold is carried through a fusing oven. After the article is fused, it is carried through a cooling station, after which it is stripped or pulled out of the mold. It is then trimmed and finished. The mold remains on the carrier and the cycle starts again. The monoplax unit can also be used to manufacture other types of footwear by employing different molds, but it cannot produce footwear without a mold. The machine is designed to make plastic footwear, such as moccasins, high shoes called boots, overshoes, galoshes, and a casual type shoe. The molds are readily changeable but adjustments of the machines are sometimes necessary for the production of different types of footwear.

Mr. Kotek testified that he was instrumental in designing all the monoplax units which were manufactured by Bata in Canada. A schedule of such units produced from 1957 to 1968, inclusive, was received in evidence as exhibit 3. It lists eight machines, only one of which was located in the United States, the one at Belcamp, Md. The witness testified that he had seen six of the machines in operation and that they were used to produce shoes. He said that such machines had certain features indicating their use as shoe machines, such as the mold carrier, the heating ovens, the fusing oven, the cooling station, and the electrical and air circuitry.

Mr. Bara testified in the incorporated case that the monoplax unit was a slush molding machine but that he was unfamiliar with other types of machines which operate by the same process. His knowledge of slush molding machines was limited to those used in shoe production. He had never heard of a doll being produced on a monoplax unit.

[228]*228In the instant case Mr. Kotek testified that slnsh molding machines use a product called plastisol which is a polyvinyl chloride in liquid form, but he was not familiar with polyvinyl chlorides and their uses outside the shoe industry. He said that if one wanted to produce a doll on a monoplax unit, a mold would be required, but he did not know whether it could be done and would have to see a mold in order to answer. The only slush molding machinery he was familiar with was that used to produce shoes.

Mr. Petriek testified that in his opinion the term “shoe” is a generic one, covering various types and styles of footwear, including oxfords, boots, sandals, and slippers. He said that low-cut shoes are referred to as oxfords and high-cut shoes as boots to distinguish them. He defined a boot as “a high shoe, worn over the foot or over another shoe.” He stated that in common usage some articles are referred to as shoes and others as boots, the distinction being that a boot is a high shoe. He regarded the term “footwear” as more inclusive, as it would embrace socks.

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Related

Pistorino & Co. v. United States
81 Cust. Ct. 106 (U.S. Customs Court, 1978)
E. Dillingham, Inc. v. United States
74 Cust. Ct. 162 (U.S. Customs Court, 1975)
Theo. H. Davies & Co. v. United States
70 Cust. Ct. 5 (U.S. Customs Court, 1973)

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Bluebook (online)
65 Cust. Ct. 224, 1970 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 3050, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/e-dillingham-inc-v-united-states-cusc-1970.