F. W. Myers & Co. v. United States

24 Cust. Ct. 178, 1950 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 1463
United States Customs Court·Decided April 4, 1950·No. C. D. 1228·Published·Cited by 4 cases

Opinion

Cole, Judge:

This case was originally decided in F. W. Myers Fa Co., Inc. v. United States, 20 Cust. Ct. 152, C. D. 1100, and is before us now following rehearing which was granted on motion of plaintiff, Same v. Same, 20 Cust. Ct. 327, Abstract 52363.

The two protests, although consolidated for the purposes of trial by consent of the parties, relate to different classes of merchandise, presenting separate and distinct issues. It is, therefore, necessary to discuss each by itself and apart from the other.

While consolidation herein is somewhat violative of the rule permitting such practice, because in this instance the merchandise and the issue are not the same in the two consolidated cases, the fact that the protests grew out of one entry explains the procedure. It is not the best practice to pursue because of the difficulty the court experiences in applying one record to two entirely different situations. If the true condition had been made clear at the time consolidation [180] was requested and an objection bad been entered by opposing counsel, it is doubtful if tbe request would have been granted. Rule 38 of this court, titled “Consolidation of Actions,” provides for a joint bearing or trial wben tbe actions involve “a common question of law or fact.” Sucb is not tbe case in tbis proceeding.

Protest 132174-K relates to lacquer reducer described in tbe Government analyst’s report, illustrative exbibit F, as “a mixture of 64% etbyl acetate and 36% amyl alcohol by weight.” It was classified under paragraph 24 of tbe Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U. S. C. § 1001, par. 24) as a mixture of chemical compounds containing more than 20 per centum of alcohol but not in excess of 50 per centum, and was accordingly assessed with duty at 40 cents per pound and 25 per centum. Plaintiff claims that tbe product contains no alcohol and therefore is classifiable as a mixture of chemical compounds, not specially provided for, under paragraph 5 of tbe Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U. S. C. § 1001, par. 5), carrying a duty assessment of 25 per centum ad valorem.

Tbe lacquer reducer, or thinner, in question contains three chemical compounds — i. e., etbyl acetate, butyl acetate, and petroleum naphtha — physically mixed. Frank L. Steel, chief chemist of the Canadian manufacturer and exporter of the said merchandise, and who developed the formulas for all of the products in question, explained the ingredients of the lacquer reducer in this manner: Ethyl acetate, amounting to 48.2 per centum of the product, and butyl acetate of which there is 21.1 per centum, are esters, the former being the combination of ethyl alcohol and acetic acid, and the latter created by combining butyl alcohol and acetic acid, with the alcohol losing its identity as such in the resulting compounds. The petroleum naphtha is a commercial product of the American Mineral Spirits Company, purchased by the Canadian manufacturer of the lacquer reducer under the trade name “Lactol Spirits,” plaintiff’s exhibit 3, which the witness called “ a light petroleum fraction, similar to gasoline,” and also characterized as “a spirit of naphtha and alcohol and is sometimes described as a spirit wash.” Questioned concerning the presence of amyl alcohol, the witness stated that there was none, and “furthermore we don’t use amyl alcohol in the plant. We don’t have any in the plant and haven’t had any for a great many years.”

The criticism in plaintiff’s brief of the finding in our previous opinion that plaintiff’s proof contained an admission that the lacquer reducer contained alcohol is not justified because counsel evidently overlooked the witness’ testimony that “Lactol Spirits” is “a spirit of naphtha and alcohol” which was construed as an admission that [181] the lacquer reducer did in fact contain alcohol of some class or kind, and which virtually formed the basis for the following conclusion in our earlier decision, O. D. 1100, supra:

The contradiction between the parties’ testimony, if there is any real contradiction, can be resolved by further consideration of the presence of the “Lacto Spirits.” The ingredient is concededly a product obtained from a source outside the plant where the imported lacquer reducer is manufactured. Consequently, the Canadian exporter has no control over the production of what it terms “petroleum naphtha,” used in its products. Such circumstances, coupled with plaintiff’s admission that alcohol is contained in “Lacto Spirits,” serve to support the Government analyst’s conclusion, showing an alcohol content of the imported merchandise.

In sustaining the collector's classification of the lacquer reducer under paragraph 24, supra, as shown by the foregoing quotation, we did so on a record in which the testimony referred to stood alone, without any amplification. However, at the trial pursuant to the order granting rehearing, plaintiff introduced additional evidence, clarifying its original presentation and materially changing the effect of its earlier proof.

It is now shown, by way of clarification and without any apparent purpose of contradicting any of plaintiff’s testimony in the initial record, that “Lactol Spirits” is a liquid composed entirely of hydrocarbon oils and contains no alcohol or esters. This fact is conclusively established through oral testimony and an analyst’s report. A technical representative of the American Mineral Spirits Company, manufacturer of “Lactol Spirits,” testified, after identifying a sample of the said substance, plaintiff’s exhibit 3, that the commodity is manufactured to meet certain specifications, and that throughout his 9 years’ experience, such specifications have remained the same. The report of a Government chemist, who, by consent of the parties, received a portion of the said sample, exhibit 3, supra, for analysis, states that “Lactol Spirits” contains “no alcohol or esters,” plaintiff’s exhibit 4.

Thus plaintiff, through its additional evidence offered at the second trial, has supplied an omission that existed in its original case and which, with the weight it deserved in assessing the testimony at that time, would have been persuasive in reaching a conclusion favorable to its claim. In the light of the supplemented record and plaintiff’s complete proof as it now appears, the testimony of the Government chemist, who was defendant’s sole witness at the first trial of the case, assumes a different aspect from that revealed in the original record. His finding of hydroxy value with a consequent conclusion of alcoholic content was based on an analysis of a small laboratory sample of the imported liquid.

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F. W. Myers & Co. v. United States, 24 Cust. Ct. 178, 1950 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 1463 (cusc 1950).

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