Strohmeyer v. United States

28 C.C.P.A. 34, 1940 CCPA LEXIS 168
CourtCourt of Customs and Patent Appeals
DecidedMay 6, 1940
DocketNo. 4283
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 28 C.C.P.A. 34 (Strohmeyer 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
Strohmeyer v. United States, 28 C.C.P.A. 34, 1940 CCPA LEXIS 168 (ccpa 1940).

Opinion

Hatfield, Judge,

delivered the opinion of the court:

This is an appeal from a judgment of the United States Customs Court, Third Division, holding certain imported nonalcoholic grenadine, créme de menthe, créme de cacao, créme de apricot, Swedish punch, and aiglontine dutiable as nonenumerated manufactured articles at 20 per centum ad valorem under paragraph 1558 of the Tariff Act of 1930 as assessed by the collector at the port of New York, rather than as beverages containing less than one-half of 1 per centum of alcohol at 15 cents per gallon under paragraph 808 of that act as claimed by the importer-appellant.

The paragraphs in question read:

Par. 1558. That there shall be levied, collected, and paid on the importation of all raw or unmanufactured articles not enumerated or provided for, a duty of 10 per centum ad valorem, and on all articles manufactured, in whole or in part, not specially provided for, a duty of 20 per centum ad valorem.
Par. 808. Ginger ale, ginger beer, lemonade, soda water, and similar beverages containing no alcohol, and beverages containing less than one-half of 1 per centum of alcohol, not specially provided for, 15 cents per gallon.

The Government submitted no evidence.

It appears from the evidence introduced by appellant that the involved créme de menthe and créme de cacao contain no alcohol, otherwise they .are identical, with the well-known, alcoholic liqueurs bearing the same names.

Appellant’s witness André Prost stated that he was in the general import business; that he specialized in sirups of various kinds and nonalcoholic beverages; that he had used and served nonalcoholic créme de menthe and créme de cacao in his home quite frequently; that he had used them frappéd, that is, they were poured over “shaved ice” but were otherwise unadulterated; and that they were very refreshing drinks. Referring particularly to créme de menthe, the witness stated that “It makes a very- sweet beverage, which has a decidedly Creme de Menthe flavor and in fact the Creme de Menthe frappé even with full alcoholic strength doesn’t give the idea of alcohol. It gives a sensation of coolness to the person drinking it, who frequently imagines that there is no alcohol in it.” The witness further stated that in his “experience” grenadine has always been nonalcoholic; that he had used it mixed with four or five times its volume of water — either plain or carbonated — and ice, to what extent he had seen it so used he did not state; and that he had also seen it used as an ingredient in alcoholic drinks of various kinds “just as Benedictine would be used today, for example, with Cognac.”

Appellant’s witness Thomas Pritchard stated that he had been a waiter and a barkeeper since about the year 1900; that to his knowledge [36]*36crime de menthe and creme de cacao, although sometimes used as an ingredient in so-called “mixed drinks,” are ordinarily drunk as a liqueur, either-straight or frappéd; that when frappéd the liqueur is poured over shaved ice in a “cocktail glass.” (Whether his testimony was intended to relate to both alcoholic and nonalcoholic creme de menthe or crime de cacao, he did not state.) The witness further testified that grenadine like that here involved is ordinarily used as one of the ingredients in mixed drinks; that such mixed drinks, in addition to the grenadine, consist of “lemon juice, lime and sugar,” and such alcoholic beverages as gin, applejack, or whisky; that when it is so used the proportions are as follows: “an ounce and a half of gin, an ounce and a half of applejack, and an ounce and a half of whisky,” depending upon which of those alcoholic beverages is desired, and a “half a teaspoonful of Grenadine”; and that it is sometimes mixed with plain water, seltzer, or white rock, in which instance about one-half ounce of grenadine is used to a glass of water. There is no evidence of record that grenadine is ever drunk without being mixed with beverages.

It further appears from the record that the involved aiglontine and Benedictine are identical, except that, whereas Benedictine is an alcoholic preparation, the involved aiglontine is nonalcoholic.

The witness Pritchard testified that Benedictine is sometimes mixed with brandy, but that it is a “great drink, either plain or frappéd.” There is no evidence of record, however, as to how the nonalcoholic aiglontine is used. Furthermore, the record contains no evidence as to the use — whether as a beverage or otherwise — of either the involved creme de apricot or the Swedish punch.

In holding that the involved articles were not beverages and not dutiable as such under paragraph 808, supra, the trial court followed its prior decisions in the cases of Tonkin Distributing Co. v. United States, T. D. 46491, 63 Treas. Dec. 1141, and Cooper Supply Co. v. United States, Abstract 27726, 65 Treas. Dec. 1454.

In the Tonkin Distributing Co. case, supra, decided June 23, 1933, the United States Customs Court held that certain imported articles “‘invoiced as nonalcoholic maraschino, chartronine, kirsch, anisette, grenadine, etc.,’ ” were not beverages within the purview of paragraph 807 of the Tariff Act of 1922 (which is identical in language with paragraph 808, supra,) as claimed by the importer, but were dutiable as nonenumerated manufactured articles under paragraph 1459 of that act, as assessed by the collector at the port of San Francisco, the court stating in its decision that, although it appeared from the evidence in the case that those articles might be drunk occasionally in their imported condition, they were chiefly consumed in a diluted condition. The court also stated in its decision that the provision in paragraph 807 of the Tariff Act of 1922 for beverages “containing less than one-[37]*37Ralf of 1 per centum of alcohol” should be considered in connection 'with the “rest of the paragraph,” and that when so considered it was clear that the -Congress intende'd tó limit that 'provision to beverages that were similar to those enumerated in the first part of the paragraph; that is, “drinks in a fluid condition like ‘ginger ale, ginger beer, lemonade, soda water,’ and not sugary sirupy compounds like the merchandise at bar.”

In the case of Cooper Supply Co. v. United States, supra, decided April 23, 1934, the United States Customs Court, following its decision in the Tonkin Distributing Co. case, supra, held that certain imported “creme de minthe, creme de cacao/maraschino, negrita punch, peach-flavored sirup, apricot-flavored sirup,” and other articles not of importance here, imported under the Tariff Act of 1930, were not beverages within the purview of paragraph 808, supra, but were dutiable as nonenumerated manufactured articles under paragraph 1558, supra, as assessed by the collector at the port of Philadelphia.

Counsel-for‘appellant-rely-here, to some--extent at least, upon the decision of the United States Customs Court in the case of B. B. Dorf & Co. (Inc.) et al. v. United States, Abstract 3711, 52 Treas. Dec.

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28 C.C.P.A. 34, 1940 CCPA LEXIS 168, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/strohmeyer-v-united-states-ccpa-1940.