Heemsoth-Kerner Corp. v. United States

7 Cust. Ct. 414, 1941 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 2056
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedAugust 6, 1941
DocketNo. 5381; Entry No. 812338
StatusPublished

This text of 7 Cust. Ct. 414 (Heemsoth-Kerner Corp. 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
Heemsoth-Kerner Corp. v. United States, 7 Cust. Ct. 414, 1941 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 2056 (cusc 1941).

Opinion

Dalltnger, Judge:

This appeal to reappraisement involves the question of the dutiable value of certain printing type manufactured [415]*415by the Bauersche Giesserei of Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany, and imported by the Bauer Type Foundry, Inc., of New York, the merchandise having been shipped in January, 1938. It was appraised on the basis of its United States value. The importer contends that there exists for said merchandise no United States value, and that the proper basis for appraisement is the cost of production.

It is conceded that there exists for said merchandise neither a foreign nor an export value. The only questions at issue are, first, is there a United States value for said merchandise, as contended by the Government, and second, if not, has the plaintiff proved a value based upon the cost of production.

The plaintiff offered in evidence the testimony of Erich Leipprand, President of the Bauer Type Foundry, Inc., the ultimate consignee and the real importer herein. He testified that his corporation was the exclusive agent in the United States for Bauersche Giesserei, the German manufacturer of said merchandise; that his corporation divides the United States into various sections, as shown by the map which was admitted in evidence as defendant’s exhibit 6; that his corporation has appointed so-called distributors to whom it sells the merchandise herein; that said distributors are specially selected and the corporation binds itself not to permit its type to be sold in the respective territory allotted to a distributor by any other person; that said distributors sell the type in their' territories but only to consumers at the retail price which is fixed by the witness’ corporation; that on an order from a distributor the corporation ships the type directly to the distributor who has entered into an agreement to carry a reasonable amount of the type in stock, a representative contract being admitted in evidence as exhibit 5; that in rare instances a distributor may request that the type be shipped directly to his customer, but in that case the bill is sent to the distributor who pays the same, deducting his commission; that in certain sections of the country, as indicated on said map (exhibit 6), the Bauer Type Foundry, Inc., has agents appointed by it who have the privilege of selling in their respective areas, but who are prohibited from selling in other areas; that these agents sell at fixed prices, orders being transmitted to the Bauer Type Foundry, Inc., which bills the goods directly to the agent’s customer and credits the agent with his commission; that the Bauer Type Foundry, Inc., reserves one district for itself, which comprises New York.City and vicinity, and also several other districts where it has no duly appointed distributors or agents; that said corporation refuses to sell to any customer located within a district assigned to a distributor; and that in the ordinary course of trade it does not receive orders from a customer in a district allotted to an agent, but occasionally it will accept such an order from a customer in such agent’s territory and pay the agent his commission.

[416]*416In connection with the witness’ testimony a book of account of the Bauer Type Foundry, Inc., showing sales of the merchandise herein was admitted in evidence as defendant’s collective exhibit 2; a penciled tabulation prepared in longhand and taken from the entries in said book of account submitted for the assistance of the court was admitted in evidence as plaintiff’s collective illustrative exhibit A; a typewritten tabulation segregating the sales made to distributors, to agents, and directly to consumers, also for the assistance of the court, was admitted in evidence as plaintiff’s illustrative exhibit A-l; a copy of the price list issued by the Bauer Type Foundry, Inc., annexed to a special agent’s report, was admitted in evidence as defendant’s exhibit 3; two monthly statements from the foreign manufacturer were admitted in evidence as defendant’s collective exhibit 4; a contract between the Bauer Type Foundry, Inc., and one of its distributors or dealers was admitted in evidence as defendant’s exhibit 5; and a special agent’s report was admitted in evidence as defendant’s collective exhibit 7. Inasmuch as the last-mentioned report (defendant’s collective exhibit 7) appears to deal only with foreign and export values, it possesses little or no probative value.

Upon this record I find the following facts:

1. That the Bauer Type Foundry, Inc., is the sole importer and agent in the United States for the printing type constituting the merchandise at bar.

2. That said Bauer Type Foundry, Inc., sells such type to certain so-called distributors or dealers appointed by it.

3. That said Bauer Type Foundry, Inc., binds itself not to permit its type to be sold by any other person in the respective territory of each distributor.

4. That said distributors or dealers sell the said type in their allotted territories only to consumers at the said retail prices fixed by the Bauer Type Foundry, Inc.

5. That in certain sections of the United States outside of the territories allotted to its distributors, the Bauer Type Foundry, Inc., appoints agents who are given the privilege of selling said type in certain specified areas only at the prices fixed by said Bauer Type Foundry, Inc., the agents receiving certain commissions therefor.

6. That the only type sold by the Bauer Type Foundry, Inc., for resale is that sold to the said distributors, 13 in number, no one of whom may sell to any purchaser outside his respective territory.

Upon these facts it is plainly evident that there exists for said merchandise no United States value, as contended for by the Government. So far as here pertinent, such value is defined in section 402 (e) of the Tariff Act of 1930 as—

* * * the price at which such or similar imported merchandise is freely offered for sale, packed ready for delivery, in the principal market of the United [417]*417States to all purchasers, at the time of exportation of the imported merchandise, in the usual wholesale quantities and in the ordinary course of trade, * * *.

It is manifest that the merchandise herein is not freely offered for' sale to all purchasers in the usual wholesale quantities, and the case appears to be on all fours with that of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. v. United States, 11 Ct. Cust. Appls. 351, T. D. 39158. There, as here, certain dealers, limited in number, were selected by the Goodyear Tiré & Kubber Co. and were not permitted to sell outside of the districts specially assigned to them. Also, there, as here, the price" at which the dealer would sell was fixed by the company — in this case, the Bauer Type Foundry, Inc.

In the last-cited case the appellate court, among other things, said:

. Whatever may be the modern tendency “to thwart competition” we do not consider that it has yet become the ordinary course of trade to restrict all distributing agencies and control all prices until goods have finally reached the hands of the consumer. If such a method of .selling and distributing merchandise be the ordinary course of business, it certainly cannot be said that merchandise so controlled and distributed is freely offered for sale to all 'purchasers in "the usual wholesale quantities in the principal markets of the country of exportation * * *.

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Related

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. v. United States
11 Ct. Cust. 351 (Customs and Patent Appeals, 1922)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
7 Cust. Ct. 414, 1941 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 2056, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/heemsoth-kerner-corp-v-united-states-cusc-1941.