Plant Products Corp. v. United States

36 Cust. Ct. 234
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedMay 17, 1956
DocketC. D. 1781
StatusPublished

This text of 36 Cust. Ct. 234 (Plant Products 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
Plant Products Corp. v. United States, 36 Cust. Ct. 234 (cusc 1956).

Opinion

WilsoN, Judge:

This is a case in which the issues are rather well defined between the parties. The imported merchandise consists of a product known as Parathion, a trade name, designated on the consular invoice as “dialkyl-nitro-aryl-thiophosphate-leverkusen 18.” It was classified under paragraph 27 (a) (3) of the Tariff Act of 1930 by the collector as a coal-tar product, with duty at 40 per centum ad valorem and 7 cents per pound. The importer claims that the involved product should be classified either as a chemical compound under paragraph 5 of the tariff act and assessed at 25 per centum, or, in the alternative, as an ester, not specially provided for, under paragraph 37 at the rate of 25 per centum ad valorem.

A written stipulation (plaintiff’s exhibit 2) was received in evidence agreeing upon the following: The imported substance is identified as diethyl-p-nitrophenyl monothiophosphate, having as its empirical chemical formula C10H14NO5PS.

The stipulation also outlines the steps through which Parathion is produced and sets forth that nitrophenol, a product specifically named in paragraph 27 (a) (1) of the Tariff Act of 1930, is used in the manufacture of the end or imported product, Parathion. Exhibit 2 also gives the chemical structural formula of the imported product as:

Plaintiff’s first witness was Dr. Herbert L. J. Haller, assistant chief of the Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine of the United States Department of Agriculture. He holds the degrees of “chemical engineer” from the University of Cincinnati and Ph. D. in biochemistry from Columbia University. He had had wide experience in the production, analysis, and use of insecticides, including Parathion, and had seen it used over a wide area. Dr. Haller testified that Parathion is “a phosphoric acid derivative,” and, further, that it is an “alkyl-aryl ester of thiophosphoric acid,” which may be regarded as an “ester of phosphoric acid” (R. 23). He stated that Parathion is outstandingly effective against aphids, mites, mealy bugs, and numerous other injurious insects on living nondormant plants. It was Dr. Haller’s opinion' that the insecticidal properties of Parathion are due to the “molecule as a whole.” However, the following excerpts from the record would indicate an admission by the witness that the deadly toxic properties of Parathion come from its coal-tar constituent:

Chief Judge Oliver: You mean the molecule as a whole, the coal tar derived one-third and the other two-thirds, is that what you mean?
The Witness: Yes.
[236]*236Chief Judge Oliver: The entire product?
The Witness: It is a specific individual compound, and if that compound is broken up, you lose its insecticidal properties.
Judge Mollison : Suppose you could isolate the one-third coal tar constituent from the two-thirds non coal tar constituent, what then would be the situation so far as insecticidal properties is concerned?
* 4: ‡ * 'Jfi
The Witness: The coal tar portion of the molecule would have insecticidal properties.
May I elaborate?
Judge Mollison: Yes.
The Witness: However, it could not be used upon living non-dormant plants, because it has phyto-toxicoligal properties.
Judge Mollison: So from a practical standpoint of what you are trying to accomplish, that is to remove insects from these living non-dormant plants, you would have to use some sort of compound which would be non-toxic to the plant itself?
The Witness: Yes, sir.
* ‡ * * * * ifc
Chief Judge Oliver: Could you use the two-thirds other than the coal tar derivative as an insecticide alone?
The Witness: Not in a practical way.
Chief Judge Oliver: The other two-thirds of this molecule, that is other than the coal tar derivative, has that lethal effect on insects, or has it insecticidal properties used alone?
The Witness: It has — May I qualify that?
Chief Judge Oliver: Yes.
The Witness: But not of sufficient toxicity to be of practical value.
Judge Mollison: Is the non-coal tar constituent, the two-thirds part, as a matter of purpose or plan, is that used to reduce the toxic effect of the one-third coal tar part of this merchandise on the plants?
The Witness: It accomplishes that. (R. 30-32.)

The witness denied, however, that the non-coal-tar constituent acts as a carrier in any way.

For the purpose of explaining testimony he had previously given concerning the toxic properties of the coal-tar portion of Parathion, Dr. Haller testified that, if the coal-tar constituent were stabilized, it would not have insecticidal properties, whereas if the non-coal-tar part, the phosphoric acid part of the molecule, were stabilized, it would have insecticidal properties, and that the coal-tar constituent in the molecule, with reference to so-called stabilization, “becomes a linkage in such a manner that you can’t disrupt it without destroying the compound” (R. 40-41). This testimony, it will be observed, is difficult to harmonize with testimony hereinbefore quoted from pages 30 to 32 of the record.

[237]*237Since the testimony of plaintiff’s first witness covers plaintiff’s claims in great detail, such evidence has been reviewed hereinbefore at considerable length. Inasmuch as the other witnesses cover much the same ground as Dr. Haller, their evidence will be referred to only briefly.

Dr. Albert Hartzell, plaintiff’s second witness, received the degree of doctor of philosophy in entomology from Ohio State University in 1923 and, from 1918 to 1922, was an instructor in entomology at Iowa State College. He had had wide experience in entomological research (R. 42-45) and has been using Parathion since 1948 only on living nondormant plants, for the control of aphids and mites.

Dr. Louis Pyenson, plaintiff’s next witness, received the degree of doctor of philosophy, majoring in entomology. He had been employed as entomologist for the Long Island Agricultural and Technical Institute in Farmingdale, N. Y., where he taught entomology, including the subject of insecticides, and carried on extension work with farmers and homeowners on the problem of insect pest control. He stated that he had been familiar with Parathion since 1948.

Dr. Charles L. Mantell, whose qualifications as a chemist were conceded by counsel for the Government, was called as plaintiff’s fourth witness. He testified that the products named in paragraphs 27 and 1651 are not similar to Parathion; that, while the materials in paragraphs 27 and 1651 all contain the benzene ring structure, it is the phosphorus grouping of the phosphoric acid that is basic in the case of Parathion, which, the witness stated, “is a phosphoric or modified phosphoric acid ester.”

Plaintiff’s final witness was Dr. Hubert Martin. He had received the degrees of bachelor of science, master of science, and doctor of science, majoring in chemistry.

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Bluebook (online)
36 Cust. Ct. 234, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/plant-products-corp-v-united-states-cusc-1956.