Manhattan Shirt Co. v. United States

2 Ct. Int'l Trade 332
United States Court of International Trade·Decided December 30, 1981·No. Court No. 81-12-01609·Published

Opinion

Ford, Judge:

Upon the record and exhibit evidence presented at a hearing on plaintiff’s motion for a preliminary injunction in the above-captioned case which was reported as Slip Op. 81-115 and;

Upon the record and exhibit evidence presented at the trial on the merits of this case on December 29, 1981; and

Upon the basis of the annexed findings of fact and conclusions of law; and

Upon all other papers and proceedings had herein, it is hereby

Ordered, Adjudged, and Decreed that defendants, William von Raab, Commissioner of Customs, Dennis T. Snyder, Regional Commissioner of Customs (Region II), Anthony M. Liberta, Area Director of Customs, J.F.K. Airport, their delegates and any officers or agents subordinate to them are directed to release and allow entry of the merchandise which is the subject of warehouse entry 4701-82-354288-4 covered by protest number 1001-1-013244 and it is further

Ordered, Adjudged, and Decreed that defendants, William von Raab, Commissioner of Customs, Dennis T. Snyder, Regional Commissioner of Customs (Region II), Anthony M. Liberta, Area Director of Customs, J.F.K. Airport, their delegates and any officers or agents subordinate to them shall not deny entry or withdrawal from warehouse for consumption of John Henry men’s fitted dress shirts of man-made fibers, visaed under category 640-D, produced or manufactured in the Republic of Korea by reason of the presence of square shirttails or the fact that the shirts have square bottoms.

[333] Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law to Accompany DECISION AND JUDGMENT

Pursuant to an order of the Court dated December 28, 1981, plaintiff herewith submits the following proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law along with a proposed judgment annexed hereto, which the court hereby modifies and adopts.

Findings of Fact

1. Plaintiff is the importer of record of John Henry men’s fitted dress shirts of man-made fibers, manufactured in the Republic of Korea, which were excluded from entry at J.F.K. Airport and which are the subject of this action.

2. Similar John Henry men’s fitted dress shirts of man-made fibers, which are being manufactured in the Republic of Korea which plaintiff is importing and will continue to import, are also the subject of this action.

3. Pursuant to section 514 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended by the Trade Agreements Act of 1979, plaintiff filed a protest (as delineated on the summons filed with the complaint in this action) which was denied, in whole, pursuant to section 515 of the Tariff Act of 1930, supra.

4. John Henry men’s fitted dress shirts have collar sizes stated in specific inches (i.e., 15K) and sleeve lengths in combination (i.e., 32/33) and those sizes appear on a label which is sewn into the center portion of the collar band of each shirt.

5. In addition to collar and sleeve sizes, John Henry men’s fitted dress shirts are designed and sized so that each neck size has a corresponding waist measurement.

6. John Henry men’s fitted dress shirts have full collar bands which extend to the edges of the front openings of the shirts.

7. John Henry men’s fitted dress shirts have fused collars, a characteristic common with fitted dress shirts.

8. John Henry men’s fitted dress shirts have square shirttails, characterized by Customs as square bottoms, which are downward extensions of the back and front panels of the shirt, which, in use, are “tucked” into the trousers.

9. John Henry men’s fitted dress shirts meet all of the criteria set forth in C.I.E. 36/79, for classification as dress shirts, and, specifically, those set forth on page 30 thereof.

10. In addition to the design characteristics indicated above, John Henry men’s fitted dress shirts have the following characteristics:

A. Higher armholes than conventionally cut shirts,

[334] B. Slimmer sleeves than conventionally cut shirts,

C. Tapered body, _

_ D. Lightweight shirtings, self-colored in solid, stripe or check,

E. One breast pocket,
F. A facing less than two inches in width,
G. A placket.

11. The merchandise in question is manufactured by Wonmi Apparel and Textile Ltd., C.P.O. Box 2102, Seoul, Korea, and the contract between plaintiff and the manufacturer describes the merchandise to be manufactured as follows:

Men’s Dress Shirts, L/S 2-top fused collar, top center, 1-chest pocket, 2-button adjustable romd cuff, straight bottom, double stitching on collar/cuff/top center/sleeve in-seam/side seam, single needle stitching on armhole;

12. Plaintiff’s office in Hong Kong, Manhattan Industries (Far East) Ltd., communicated directly to Wonmi Apparel and Textile Ltd. instructions for the manufacture of the merchandise now before the Court and will have a similar function for future entries.

13. Manhattan Industries (Far East) Ltd.’s cutting tickets or purchase orders indicate clearly that the merchandise to be manufactured is “John Henry dress shirt [s]”.

14. The numeral “6” appearing in the lot number in each of the cutting tickets is reserved for dress shirts and, in addition, the cutting ticket describes the merchandise as “John Henry European fit” and all collars are “with stay,” a dress shirt feature.

15. Plaintiff advertises the merchandise in the United States as a “dress” shirt.

16. John Henry men’s fitted dress shirts are marketed and sold in the United States as dress shirts, specifically, fitted dress shirts, and currently fitted dress shirts account for more that 25% of the total department store sales of dress shirts.

17. Department stores in the United States feature John Henry men’s fitted dress shirts, and other fitted dress shirts, in separate departments within the stores.

18. Plaintiff, through its John Henry Division, introduced the fitted dress shirt to the U.S. market and has been an innovator in this market since approximately 1973.

19. There is a substantial segment of the retail and consumer market which demands fitted dress shirts such as the John Henry men’s fitted dress shirts.

20. The square shirttails on the John Henry men’s fitted dress shirts are a design feature of fitted dress shirts.

[335]*33521. John Henry men’s fitted dress shirts are indistinguishable in appearance from conventionally cut dress shirts with rounded shirttails which are conceded by the Government to be dress shirts.

22. John Henry men’s fitted dress shirts are bought, sold, advertised and marketed in the same way as conventional dress shirts; namely, as dress shirts.

23. On October 23, 1981, plaintiff attempted to make entry of the merchandise which is the subject of the protest in this action and which was imported into the United States on October 18 and October 21,1981.

24. On October 28, plaintiff’s attempted entry for consumption was rejected by the Area Director, J.F.K. Airport, Jamaica, New York.

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Manhattan Shirt Co. v. United States, 2 Ct. Int'l Trade 332 (cit 1981).

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