MBL (USA) Corp. v. United States

14 Ct. Int'l Trade 161, 733 F. Supp. 379, 14 C.I.T. 161, 1990 Ct. Intl. Trade LEXIS 42
CourtUnited States Court of International Trade
DecidedMarch 14, 1990
DocketCourt No. 89-07-00403; Court No. 89-07-00404
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 14 Ct. Int'l Trade 161 (MBL (USA) Corp. v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Court of International Trade primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
MBL (USA) Corp. v. United States, 14 Ct. Int'l Trade 161, 733 F. Supp. 379, 14 C.I.T. 161, 1990 Ct. Intl. Trade LEXIS 42 (cit 1990).

Opinion

Aquilino, Judge:

The plaintiffs commenced the above-encaptioned actions by service and filing of form summonses and of complaints, demanding in each instance

judgment ordering the United States Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration, to amend the Antidumping Duty Order * * * so that it releases the bonds or refunds deposits (with interest) given or made on entries or withdrawals from warehouse for consumption of industrial power transmission [V-]belts * * * made from February 1,1989 to June 7, 1989, and states that such entries or withdrawals from warehouse [for consumption] are not liable for the possible assessment of antidumping duties.

The orders for which amendment is sought were published on June 14, 1989 sub nom. Antidumping Duty Order of Sales at Less Than Fair Value; Industrial Belts and Components and Parts Thereof, Whether Cured, or TJncured, From Japan, 54 Fed. Reg. 25,314, and Antidumping Duty Order of Sales at Less Than Fair Value; Industrial Belts and Components and Parts Thereof, Whether Cured or Uncured, From Singapore, 54 Fed. Reg. 25,315, and are based on final determinations of the International Trade Administration (“ITA”) reported at 54 Fed. Reg. 15,485 (April 18, 1989) and 54 Fed. Reg. 15,489 (April 18, 1989), respectively.

[162]*162Within 30 days of the filing of the original complaints, the plaintiffs filed amended complaints in each action, adding second counts which seek to contest the affirmative injury determinations of the U.S. International Trade Commission (“ITC”)1 also underlying the foregoing an-tidumping-duty orders. The defendant and the intervenor-defendant have interposed answers to the amended complaints. In addition, in each action the defendant has filed a “Motion to Dismiss Count II of the Complaint”2, which amounts to a motion for partial summary judgment within the meaning of CIT Rule 12(c) (rather than 12(b) specified by the defendant) in view of the joinder of issue and the presentment of matters outside the pleadings.

Defendant’s counsel argue in support of their motions that the plaintiffs lack standing to contest the ITC’s determinations and also that this court lacks subject-matter jurisdiction over the second counts of the amended complaints. The intervenor-defendant supports the first argument.

I

The Trade Agreements Act of 1979, as amended, provides in pertinent part:

(2) Review of determinations on record
(A) In general
Within thirty days after—
(i) the date of publication in the Federal Register of—
* * * (II) an antidumping or countervailing duty order based upon any determination described in clause (i) of subparagraph (B), * * *
an interested party who is a party to the proceeding in connection with which the matter arises may commence an action in the United States Court of International Trade by filing a summons, and within thirty days thereafter a complaint, each with the content and in the form, manner, and style prescribed by the rules of that court, contesting any factual findings or legal conclusions upon which the determination is based.3

The papers before the court now indicate that the above-named plaintiffs participated in proceedings before the ITA and the ITC as parties respondent. Their counsel filed a notice of appearance with the latter agency stating, among other things, that “[a]ll three corporations * * * intend to participate fully in the[ ] investigations and to file briefs and statements with the Commission. ”4 Thereafter, however, counsel sent a letter to the ITC as follows:

[163]*163On instructions from our clients * * *, we hereby withdraw their appearance as parties in this investigation. We likewise withdraw the notice of appearance at the hearing in this matter filed last week. Our clients will not be filing briefs in this matter, through counsel or otherwise, nor will they or their attorneys or representatives be appearing at the hearing in this matter.
We, as attorneys covered by administrative protective order in this matter, are cognizant of our obligations and those of other attorneys in our firms under such order and will return or destroy, at your instruction and with appropriate certification, all materials made available to us to date or hereafter. We would request that no further confidential material be served on us by the Commission. In addition to serving this notice on all parties by first class mail, we are sending the same this afternoon by telefax to attorneys for parties covered by the Administrative Protective Order in order that they may delete our names from their APO service list.5

The Commission reacted accordingly, serving copies of this withdrawal statement on all other parties to the protective order.6

The plaintiffs argue now in opposition to defendant’s motions that their

letter was intended to inform the ITC that MBL would not be filing briefs in the final ITC investigation or appearing at the hearing. The primary purpose of the letter was to address confidential materials provided to counsel and to prevent further service of them on counsel.* * *
Under 19 CFR 201.11(a),* * * a party filing an appearance before the ITC is required to state its intent to file briefs with the ITC regarding the subject matter of the investigation. MBL’s appearance expressed such an intent. When it was determined later, however, that MBL would not be filing briefs, it so informed the ITC in the form of a withdrawal. The withdrawal was intended to be limited to that statement in the appearance. Since counsel for MBL no longer intended to file briefs, they were obligated to refrain from receiving further confidential information.7

The court accepts this representation on its face, but the position taken makes the basis of the ITC’s present objection obvious.8 Rather than attempt to aid the agency in final resolution of its investigations, the respondents, now putative plaintiffs herein, withdrew — and at the very moment when input from them by way of written or oral presentations could have been most helpful to the commissioners.

The principle that issues not raised in a forum nisi prius cannot be raised on appeal is as old as the term itself and does not require citation of precedents. Another established precedent, of course, is that in deciding a motion to dismiss, the complaint is to be viewed in a light most fa[164]*164vorable to the plaintiff. E.g., Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41 (1957). This court has afforded plaintiffs’ second counts in these actions such consideration, but that approach has failed to dim their clear-cut challenge to the final analysis of one of the commissioners in support of the ITC’s affirmative determinations. The citation to, and attempted reliance on, Yuasa-General Battery Corp. v. United States, 11 CIT 382, 661 F. Supp.

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Bluebook (online)
14 Ct. Int'l Trade 161, 733 F. Supp. 379, 14 C.I.T. 161, 1990 Ct. Intl. Trade LEXIS 42, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mbl-usa-corp-v-united-states-cit-1990.