Loewenthal Trimming Corp. v. United States

39 C.C.P.A. 149, 1952 CCPA LEXIS 122
CourtCourt of Customs and Patent Appeals
DecidedJanuary 29, 1952
DocketNo. 4680
StatusPublished

This text of 39 C.C.P.A. 149 (Loewenthal Trimming Corp. v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Customs and Patent Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Loewenthal Trimming Corp. v. United States, 39 C.C.P.A. 149, 1952 CCPA LEXIS 122 (ccpa 1952).

Opinion

JOHNSON, Judge,

delivered the opinion of the court:

This is an appeal from a judgment of the United States Customs Court, First Division, in conformity with its decision, C. D. 1314, overruling the protest of appellant against the assessment of duty by the Collector of Customs on an importation invoiced as “Slung (single row of spangled trimmings)” at the rate of 60 per centum ad valorem under paragraph 1503 of the Tariff Act of 1930 as “* * * articles not ornamented with * * * spangles * * * composed wholly or in chief value of * * * spangles * *

In its protest, appellant claimed the merchandise to be properly dutiable at the rate of 35 per centum ad valorem under the same paragraph of the act as “Spangles * * * not specially provided for.” Paragraph 1503, supra, contains a proviso that “the rates on spangles and beads provided for in this paragraph shall be applicable whether such spangles and beads are strung or loose, mounted or unmounted: * *

The pertinent portions of paragraph 1503, supra, under which the merchandise was classified and likewise claimed to be properly dutiable read as follows:

[151]*151Par. 1503. Spangles and beads * * * not specially provided for, 35 per •centum ad valorem; , * * * fabrics and articles not ornamented with beads; spangles, or bugles, not embroidered, tamboured, appliqued, or scalloped, composed wholly or in chief value of beads or spangles * * * 60 per centum ad valorem; * * * Provided, That the rates on spangles and beads provided in this paragraph shall be applicable whether such spangles and beads are strung or loose, mounted or unmounted: * * *.

Appellant introduced the testimony of one witness and appellee introduced the testimony of two witnesses. Also a number of exhibits were introduced in evidence. Exhibit 1 is a sample of the imported merchandise. Illustrative Exhibit A is spangles strung on a thread^ Collective Exhibit B is trimmings made from slung spangles. Illustrative Exhibit C is an ornament made from spangles and Illustrative D is a spool of spangles similar to Exhibit'1.

Mr. Katz, president of appellant corporation, testified that “slung" or “schlung” is “an old foreign word and it has been used in the trade here for maybe over 100 years.” The words “slung” and “schlung” are used interchangeably.

Mr. Katz further testified that he had been connected with appellant corporation for forty-odd years and is its president; that appellant’s business is importing and manufacturing trimmings; that Exhibit 1 is “schlung cup sequins”; that sequins are the same as spangles; that the spangles are affixed to a string by machine in such manner that they cannot move; that the schlung spangles are on a spool which contains 144 yards of the material although it sometimes comes in half-gross spools; that appellant purchased and sold it in either gross or half-gross spools; that “The word ‘mounted’ means a sequence of mounting on a thread by a machine as in Exhibit 1”; that the spangles of Exhibit 1 are mounted; that merchandise like Exhibit lis used to make into other articles such as trimming by the yard, hair ornaments and flowers; that Exhibits B and C are made from the merchandise of Exhibit 1; that he bought and sold merchandise similar to Exhibit 1 as “spangles mounted”, that the imported merchandise was not invoiced to him as “spangles mounted” and that he did not invoice it to his customers as “spangles mounted.”

Appellee’s witness Mr. Messe testified that he has been engaged in the dress trimmings business since 1898; that in the operation of his business he handles merchandise similar to Exhibit 1 and that it is “slung spangles”; that merchandise like Exhibit B is spangle trimming by the yard made out of slung; that he had never heard of either of those terms being applied to merchandise similar to or like Exhibit 1.

Appellee’s other witness, Mr. Blitzer, testified that he has been with the Manhattan Trimming Works, which manufactures braid, for 25 years; that his firm imports merchandise like Exhibit 1 and that he is familiar with it; that it is “slung spangles”; that he had never heard of the term “spangles mounted” or “mounted spangles”; that [152]*152his firm sells merchandise like Exhibit 1 as “spangles, slung”; that he has never heard of “mounted” used in connection with spangles; that Exhibit A is loose spangles and that Exhibit B is “trimmings made from slung spangles.”

The sole issue here presented is whether the imported merchandise is dutiable as an article in chief value of spangles as assessed, or as spangles mounted, as claimed in the protest.

An examination of Exhibit 1, a sample of the imported merchandise, discloses that there are three threads, one of which passes through a hole in the center of the spangles and the other two threads are overlapped in such a way as to hold the spangles in a permanent flat position, each spangle overlapping the next spangle. As imported it is a continuous strip of overlapping spangles wound on spools with each spool usually containing one gross (144 yards) of the schlung or slung.

In reviewing the tariff history the Customs Court in its decision stated:

* * * The provision that the rates on spangles and beads “shall be applicable whether such spangles and beads are strung or loose, mounted or unmounted” first appeared in paragraph 1503 of the present Tariff Act of 1930. In the Tariff Act of 1897, the provisions of paragraph 408 merely covered beads “ not threaded or strung” and It was held by the courts, in construing such provisions, that beads even temporarily or loosely strung were still “threaded or strung” and were excluded from that paragraph. The Tariff Act of 1909, in addition to providing for beads and spangles, not threaded or strung, contained an additional provision for beads or spangles “strung loosely on thread for facility in transportation only” (paragraph 421). These provisions were carried forward into paragraph 333 of the Tariff Act of 1913. Under the Tariff Act of 1922, the provision in paragraph 1403 for spangles and beads contained no words of limitation. The provision therein for imitation pearl beads and for all other beads in imitation of precious or semiprecious stones, however, covered such merchandise if “strung or loose, mounted or unmounted.” By the provisions of paragraph 1503 of the Tariff Act of 1930, the provision with respect to “strung or loose, mounted or unmounted” was made applicable not only to imitation pearl beads or beads in imitation of precious or semiprecious stones, as was the case in the 1922 act, but also to all spangles and beads covered by the paragraph here in question.

In support of its contention, appellant cites United States v. Thorens, Inc., 32 C. C. P. A. (Customs) 137, C. A. D. 298 and United States v. May Dept. Stores Co., 15 C. C. P. A. (Customs) 46, 52, T. D. 42151.

In the United States v. Thorens, Inc., case, supra, the issue was the meaning of the term “mounted” as used in paragraph 1406 of the Tariff Act of 1930 relating to calendars. In its brief appellee points out that different industries apply entirely different meanings to the same term and that this is particularly true of a word of wide general circulation and cites In re Duncan, 28 App. D. C. 457, 460; 27 Words and Phrases 709. In the Duncan case it was held that “mounted” in machine construction means that the thing mounted upon another must be borne or supported by it.

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Bluebook (online)
39 C.C.P.A. 149, 1952 CCPA LEXIS 122, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/loewenthal-trimming-corp-v-united-states-ccpa-1952.