San Vicente Camalu SPR De Ri v. United States

366 F. Supp. 2d 1373, 29 Ct. Int'l Trade 436, 29 C.I.T. 436, 27 I.T.R.D. (BNA) 1624, 2005 Ct. Intl. Trade LEXIS 53
CourtUnited States Court of International Trade
DecidedApril 18, 2005
DocketCourt 03-00517; SLIP OP. 05-50
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 366 F. Supp. 2d 1373 (San Vicente Camalu SPR De Ri 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
San Vicente Camalu SPR De Ri v. United States, 366 F. Supp. 2d 1373, 29 Ct. Int'l Trade 436, 29 C.I.T. 436, 27 I.T.R.D. (BNA) 1624, 2005 Ct. Intl. Trade LEXIS 53 (cit 2005).

Opinion

OPINION

RIDGWAY, Judge.

Plaintiffs in this action — hereinafter collectively referred to as “SVC” — are San Vicente Camalu SPR de RI (“San Vicente”), a Mexican producer and exporter of fresh tomatoes, and Expo Fresh, LLC (“Expo Fresh”), a U.S. importer of the same. SVC here contests certain determinations made in the course of an anti-dumping investigation by the U.S. Department of Commerce (“Commerce”) and the U.S. International Trade Commission (“ITC”). Specifically, invoking the court’s residual jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1581(i) (2000), 1 SVC challenges the two agencies’ determinations to terminate (or, alternatively, not to reopen) the five year “sunset” review involving fresh tomatoes from Mexico.

Now before the court are parallel motions to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction filed on behalf of Commerce and the ITC, and opposed by SVC. 2 As discussed in greater detail below, so-called “(i) jurisdiction” will not lie in this case, because jurisdiction was available under another provision of the statute — specifically, 28 U.S.C. § 1581(c). SVC failed to meet the statutory deadline for filing its appeal under § 1581(c), however. The pending motions are therefore granted, and this action is dismissed.

I. Background

The underlying administrative proceedings began some nine years ago, when representatives of the U.S. tomato industry petitioned Commerce and the ITC, alleging that fresh tomatoes from Mexico were being dumped in this country (that is, sold at less than fair value), to the detriment of the domestic industry. 3 Both agencies launched antidumping investigations, and in due course made affirmative *1375 preliminary determinations. 4 The investigations were suspended in November 1996, however, when Commerce entered into a suspension agreement with certain Mexican tomato producers and exporters, who agreed to revise their prices. 5 The statute authorizes Commerce to enter into such agreements where, inter alia, “exporters of the subject merchandise who account for substantially all of the imports of that merchandise” agree to measures that “eliminate completely the injurious effect” of the imports. 19 U.S.C. § 1673c(c) (emphasis added). 6

Fast forward approximately five years, to October 2001. Commerce and the ITC began their five-year “sunset” review of the suspended antidumping investigations, to determine whether dumping (and material injury to domestic producers) would be likely to continue or resume if the suspended investigation were terminated. 7 But, in late May 2002, while the agencies’ sunset reviews were ongoing, Mexican tomato producers and exporters accounting for a large percentage of U.S. imports gave notice of their intent to withdraw from the 1996 Suspension Agreement. Because the suspension agreement no longer covered “substantially all of the imports,” Commerce was forced to terminate it, effective July 30, 2002. 8

The termination of the 1996 Suspension Agreement led perforce to the agencies’ termination of their sunset reviews (since, as Commerce noted, “there [was] no longer a suspended investigation for which to perform a sunset review”), and to the resumption of the agencies’ antidumping investigations initiated some six years earlier. 9 However, those investigations were *1376 soon halted once again, by a new, suspension agreement — the 2002 Suspension Agreement. 10

San Vicente requested that the anti-dumping investigations' be continued, notwithstanding the 2002 Suspension Agreement;' but its request was denied. 11 It did riot seek to appeal that denial. Next, SVC asked the ITC to “reopen” its sunset review. The ITC denied SVC’s request. SVC then set ‘ its sights on Commerce, requesting that it reopen its sunset review. That request, too, was denied. Commerce reiterated that it could not “conduct a sunset review of a non-existent suspension agreement.” 12

On July 29, 2003 — approximately one year after the agencies terminated their sunset reviews — SVC commenced this action, challenging those terminations. In the alternative, SVC challenges the agencies’ denials of its requests to reopen their sunset reviews. See Complaint ¶¶ 25-30 (Count I, challenging Commerce’s termination of sunset review), ¶¶ 31-35 (Count *1377 II, challenging ITC’s termination of sunset review), ¶¶ 36-41 (Count III, challenging Commerce’s denial of SVC’s request to reopen sunset review), ¶¶ 42-46 (Count IV, challenging ITC’s denial of SVC’s request to reopen sunset review).

II. Analysis

Where a plaintiffs assertion of jurisdiction is challenged by a motion to dismiss pursuant to USCIT Rule 12(b)(1), the plaintiff bears the burden of proving the soundness of its jurisdictional allegations. See McNutt v. Gen. Motors Acceptance Corp., 298 U.S. 178, 189, 56 S.Ct. 780, 80 L.Ed. 1135 (1936); Rocovich v. United States, 933 F.2d 991, 993 (Fed.Cir.1991); Elkem Metals Co. v. United States, 23 CIT 170, 175, 44 F.Supp.2d 288, 292 (1999). Here, SVC’s claim to jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1581(i) 13 turns on whether it could have availed itself of jurisdiction under some other provision of § 1581. See JCM, Ltd. v. United States, 210 F.3d 1357, 1359 (Fed.Cir.2000) (quoting Norcal/Crosetti Foods, Inc. v. United States, 963 F.2d 356, 359 (Fed.Cir.1992)) (jurisdiction lies under § 1581 (i) only where there is no jurisdiction under any other subsection of § 1581, unless the remedy under that other subsection would be “manifestly inadequate”). 14

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Related

San Vicente Camalu Spr De Ri v. United States
491 F. Supp. 2d 1186 (Court of International Trade, 2007)

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Bluebook (online)
366 F. Supp. 2d 1373, 29 Ct. Int'l Trade 436, 29 C.I.T. 436, 27 I.T.R.D. (BNA) 1624, 2005 Ct. Intl. Trade LEXIS 53, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/san-vicente-camalu-spr-de-ri-v-united-states-cit-2005.