Tanous v. United States

45 Cust. Ct. 522
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedOctober 20, 1960
DocketReap. Dec. 9817; Entry No. 74
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 45 Cust. Ct. 522 (Tanous 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
Tanous v. United States, 45 Cust. Ct. 522 (cusc 1960).

Opinion

Johnson, Judge:

This is an appeal for reappraisement of bubble chewing gum, imported from Mexico on February 27, 1947. It was entered at 6.50 Mexican pesos per 100 tablets, plus stamp tax, and was appraised at 8 Mexican pesos per 100 tablets, net, packed, plus 1.65 per centum Mexican stamp tax. It is claimed that the merchandise was freely offered in the home market for domestic consumption and for export to the United States at 6.50 Mexican pesos per 100 tablets, plus 1.65 per centum Mexican stamp tax, as entered.

At the trial, Joseph Tanous, the plaintiff herein, testified as follows: In 1947, he imported bubble chewing gum having the brand name “Chiclines” from Chiclera Industrial Mexicana, S.A., of Mexico City. It was not manufactured especially for him and was made according to a standard bubble gum formula used by practically all manufacturers throughout the world. He was familiar with market conditions in Mexico relating to gum manufacture as he had been engaged in dealing in a similar product since January 1943. Prior to J anuary 31, 1947, he had had an oral agreement with the manufacturers for the purchase of the merchandise at 6.50 pesos per 100 tablets. On January 31, 1947, after a month of discussion, a written contract was entered into between the plaintiff and the manufacturers. According to the plaintiff, this contract was never put into effect, and a second oral agreement was made thereafter, under which the plaintiff continued to purchase the product at 6.50 pesos per 100 tablets. He imported this bubble gum from February to August 1947 and the price to him remained stationary.

The written contract, with two translations thereof, was received in evidence as defendant’s collective exhibit A and plaintiff’s exhibit 1. It is dated January 31, 1947, and was executed by Joseph Tanous, representing the Tanous Chicle Co., the buyer, and Pastor Bautista G., representing Chiclera Industrial Mexicana, S.A., and Armando Medina Alonzo, representing himself and Impulsora Agricola Industrial, S.A., the sellers. It provided that the sellers would manufacture chewing gum of the qualities and types specified and would sell it to the buyer exclusively, except for chewing gum destined for consumption in Mexico, and 50 tons which could be sold to the Pan American Supply Co. of Mexico, and partly processed chicle which might be sold to Cuban purchasers. The contract further provided:

SECOND.- — -For the processing of the products which the sellers will sell exclusively to the buyer, the latter will advance the sums that in each ease shall be fixed by mutual accord. The sums which result charged to the sellers and in credit of the buyer because of these advances, shall begin to be redeemed by the [524]*524buyer, until they have sold the buyer a minimum of one hundred tons of the product. Said advances shall be paid, when the time arrives, by means of deductions on the amount of the sales that the sellers will make to the buyer up to the sum of $1.50 (one peso and 50/100 M. N. Mexican) for each kilogram of the product delivered.

Mr. Tanous testified that, at or prior to the signing of the contract, he advanced $50,000 to the manufacturers, which was given to Pastor Bautista, an attorney representing Chiclera Industrial Mexicana, under his guaranty that the money would be secure. Thereafter, Mr. Tanous accepted purchases against this advance and eventually recovered the $50,000 in merchandise on the basis of 6.50 pesos per 100 pieces.

As to the cancellation of the contract, Mr. Tanous testified variously as follows:

That it was cancelled in writing, but he did not have a copy of the writing. (R. 13.)
That it was cancelled within a month. (R. 15.)
That a letter was sent to the factory cancelling this agreement at their request ; that it was not cancelled in June or July 1947. (R. 16.)
That it may have been cancelled the first week in March (R. 19) ; that it was cancelled in February or March, but he could not say whether it was later than March 31. (R. 20.)
That the sellers wanted the contract cancelled for their own protection because they had already started making offers to sell the gum in the United States at 6.50 per 100 pieces. (R. 22.)
That the sellers wanted an advance of $100,000, which was the basis of the difficulty. (R. 23.)
That the contract existed as to many things, including the price of 6.50 pesos per hundred. (R. 23.)
That it was never in effect on a commercial basis. (R. 24.)
That the sellers agreed with the purchaser that the terms of the contract could not be adhered to because of plaintiff’s failure to put up an additional $50,000 for which reason the sellers wanted freedom to sell their merchandise wherever they could. (R. 25.)
That the second oral agreement was made shortly after the contract was signed, possibly five days or so. (R. 32.)

Mr. Tanous testified that he had definite personal knowledge that the merchandise was freely offered and sold extensively in Mexico; that he had access to the books and records of the manufacturers and found that sales were made in Mexico for home consumption at prices varying from 6 pesos to 6.50 pesos per 100 tablets; and that the price did not vary according to the quantity purchased. He also said that the manufacturers offered this gum for export to purchasers other than himself; that he had seen letters which were sent by the factory requesting wholesalers and jobbers in the United States to enter into [525]*525commercial relations with the Mexican company; that the price at which the merchandise was offered was 6.50 pesos per 100.

Nicholas Alejandro Mata, called as a witness for the plaintiff, testified that, from February to the latter part of July 1947, he was employed by the plaintiff to check whether the bubble gum manufactured by Chiclera Industrial Mexicana was made according to the formula and to check the shipments to the plaintiff. He observed the ingredients used in the manufacture of the gum and noted that Mexican sugar as well as Cuban sugar was used. He also noted that not all the gum manufactured was shipped to Mr. Tanous.

There was received in evidence, as plaintiff’s exhibit 2, an affidavit of Pastor Bautista G., executed June 16, 1958, in which the affiant states that he was a party to the contract between the manufacturers and the plaintiff and that he participated in the negotiations leading up to it. He states, further, that the contract was never complied with because plaintiff failed to deposit with the manufacturers the full sum they desired; that it had been agreed that plaintiff would deposit $100,000 but that only $50,000 was deposited; that, therefore, the contract was not adhered to, and the parties dealt with each other on the basis of an oral understanding other than the terms of the written contract. According to the affiant, who said he was familiar with the method of doing business by the manufacturers, bubble gum made according to the same formula was freely offered and sold to all purchasers in Mexico for home consumption at 6 pesos and/or 6.50 pesos per kilo during the period from February 1 to June 30, 1947. The affidavit continues:

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Related

United States v. Tanous
53 C.C.P.A. 129 (Customs and Patent Appeals, 1966)
Tanous v. United States
50 Cust. Ct. 379 (U.S. Customs Court, 1963)

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Bluebook (online)
45 Cust. Ct. 522, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tanous-v-united-states-cusc-1960.