United States ex rel. American Textile Manufacturers Institute Inc. v. Limited, Inc.

179 F.R.D. 541, 1997 WL 911144
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Ohio
DecidedJuly 9, 1997
DocketNo. C2-97-776
StatusPublished
Cited by41 cases

This text of 179 F.R.D. 541 (United States ex rel. American Textile Manufacturers Institute Inc. v. Limited, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States ex rel. American Textile Manufacturers Institute Inc. v. Limited, Inc., 179 F.R.D. 541, 1997 WL 911144 (S.D. Ohio 1997).

Opinion

ORDER

BECKWITH, District Judge.

On September 25, 1996, Relator, American Textile Manufacturers Institute, Inc., filed this action, pursuant to the False Claims Act, alleging that Defendants knowingly have engaged in the practice of filing false statements with the United States Customs Service concerning the country of origin of their apparel imports. (Doc. No. 1). On June 02, 1997, Defendants filed motions to dismiss under FRCP 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim. (Doc. Nos. 23, 25, 26, and 27). On November 13, 1997, Judge Holschuh, of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio1 granted that motion and dismissed this suit, with prejudice. (Doc. Nos. 126 and 127). On November 28, 1997, Relator filed a motion to disqualify Judge Holschuh and to vacate the order of dismissal. (Doe. No. 129). While determining that the motion to disqualify was not well-taken, Judge Holschuh chose to step aside, because of his usual practice with motions to recuse and the importance of expediting the proceedings. (Doc. No. 138 at 10-11, 14). He denied the motion to vacate. (Doc. No. 138). The Honorable Walter Rice, Chief Judge of this District, reassigned the case to this Court. (Doc. No. 142).

Relator has filed a motion to vacate Judge Holschuh’s order dismissing the case, a motion to alter the judgment under FRCP 59(e), and a motion to amend the amended complaint. (Doc. Nos. 144, 130, 145).. For the reasons provided below, none of Relator’s motions are well-taken and the Court hereby denies Relator’s motion to vacate, motion to alter the judgment, and motion to amend the amended complaint.

[544]*5441. FACTS2

Relator is a trade association of domestic textile and apparel manufacturers. Defendants consist of corporations and individuals who engage in the business of importing apparel. In sum, Relator’s 73-page amended complaint alleges that Defendants contracted with overseas manufacturers to ship apparel to Defendants in the United States.. (Doc. No. 8). Allegedly, Defendants knowingly permitted the manufacturers to misidentify the country of origin on the packages shipped to Defendants. For instance, the label on a box of goods manufactured in the People’s Republic of China would identify Hong Kong as the country of origin. This mislabeling would allow Defendants to import goods in excess of quotas imposed by the United States government. In this ease, the country of origin identified did not affect the duties owed and paid by Defendants. (Doc. No. 126 at 33). Relator alleges that Defendants then falsified entry documents so that United States Customs officials would not discover that the shipment had been mislabeled.

To generalize, Relator contends that by allowing the mismarking of the packages, Defendants violated statutes and regulations under which the United States could assess fines and penalties. (See Doe. No. 126 at 6-10). Relator argues that these fines and penalties constitute obligations which Defendants owed the government. Thus, when Defendants falsified the entry documents, they attempted to avoid an obligation owed to the U.S. government. Consequently, Defendants are subject to liability under a section of the False Claims Act (“FCA”), 31 U.S.C. § 3729(a)(7).3 With the authority provided in the qui tarn provisions of the FCA, Relator is pursuing the government’s FCA claim and, if successful, would share in the government’s recovery. See 31 U.S.C. § 3730(b).

II. ANALYSIS

A. Motion to Vacate Judgment

Relator has filed a motion to vacate under FRCP 60(b)(1) and 60(b)(6). (Doc. No. 129). It asserts that vacatur is the only way to “eliminate the ‘taint’ created by the appearance of impropriety” and to ensure true de novo review of the merits of this case. (Doc. No. 144 at 4). According to Relator, Judge Holschuh should have vacated the order under Rule 60(b)(6) when he agreed to step aside, and vacatur also is available now under Rule 60(b)(1) because Judge Holschuh erred when he failed to vacate the Order upon Relator’s initial request. (Id.)

Relator argues that the Court should vacate the judgment because the circumstances culminating in disqualification created an appearance of impropriety. (Doc. No. 144 at 4-5). The Supreme Court has considered the appropriateness of vacating a judgment under FRCP 60(b)(6) on the grounds that, subsequent to the final judgment, a violation of 28 U.S.C. § 455(a)4 is discovered.5 Liljeberg v. Health Servs. Acquisition [545]*545Corp., 486 U.S. 847, 858, 108 S.Ct. 2194, 2202, 100 L.Ed.2d 855 (1988). The Supreme Court instructed courts, faced with this issue, to consider: (1) the risk of injustice to the parties in the particular case, (2) the risk that the denial of relief would produce injustice in other cases, and (3) the risk of undermining the public’s confidence in the judicial process. Id. at 864, 108 S.Ct. at 2205. The Court cautioned that while FRCP 60(b)(6) provides courts with the authority to vacate judgments whenever appropriate to accomplish justice, a court should apply the rule only in “ ‘extraordinary circumstances.’ ” Id. at 863-64, 108 S.Ct. at 2204-05 (citations omitted). Applied to this case, the factors do not weigh in favor of vacatur.

1. Whether the parties will suffer injustice.

A denial of the motion to vacate will not cause the parties to suffer injustice. Judge Holschuh did not find that a violation of § 455 occurred. He stepped aside citing both his normal practice with motions to disqualify and the importance of an expeditious resolution of the case on its merits without the encumbrance of a question of impropriety. As a policy matter, the Court is reluctant to vacate a judgment by a district judge who has not been disqualified but has voluntarily stepped aside.

The basis of Relator’s motion for disqualification was that Judge Holschuh retained James Arnold of the Vorys, Safer, Seymour and Pease law firm (“Vorys, Safer”) for representation in a legal matter occurring in May and June of 1997. (Doc. 'No. 138 at 1-2). Counsel, other than Mr. Arnold, from Vorys, Safer represent Defendants in the present case. Mr. Arnold and Judge Holschuh terminated their attorney/client relationship before this case was transferred to the Southern District of Ohio and before it was assigned, by blind draw, to Judge Holschuh. (Doc. No. 138 at 2 and 5).

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179 F.R.D. 541, 1997 WL 911144, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-ex-rel-american-textile-manufacturers-institute-inc-v-ohsd-1997.