United States v. C. J. Tower & Sons

24 C.C.P.A. 456, 1937 CCPA LEXIS 22
CourtCourt of Customs and Patent Appeals
DecidedMarch 22, 1937
DocketNo. 4030
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 24 C.C.P.A. 456 (United States v. C. J. Tower & Sons) 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
United States v. C. J. Tower & Sons, 24 C.C.P.A. 456, 1937 CCPA LEXIS 22 (ccpa 1937).

Opinion

Garrett, Judge,

delivered the opinion of the court:

This is an appeal by the Government from a judgment of the United States Customs Court, Second Division, in a reappraisement proceeding, involving five cases consolidated for trial, the cases being appeals to reappraisement numbers 12357-A, 13289-A, 13290-A, 13292-A, and 13298-A.

The merchandise consisted of wheat flour imported from Canada in the latter part of 1922 and the early part of 1923. It was packed in bags, each bag, with the wheat flour content, weighing 140 lbs. The railway cars in which the shipments were made each contained from 250 to 500 bags. Under a provision of paragraph 729 of the Tariff Act of 1922 the merchandise was assessed with a specific duty of 78 cents per hundred pounds. This duty is not in controversy.

The controversy relates solely to appraisements made under a finding of dumping as expressed in T. D. 39071, 41 Treas. Dec. 176, issued April 22, 1922, pursuant to the Antidumping Act of 1921.

[458]*458It was and is the claim of the importers that the appraisements under the antidumping act were void, and this claim was sustained by the single judge, sitting in reappraisement, from whose decision we quote the following excerpt:

Counsel for both parties conceded by oral stipulation in open court that no samples of the merchandise in these cases were drawn or retained by anjmne; that no packages of the importations were designated by the collector for examination by customs officials; that no official examination packages were retained; and that certain affidavits required by regulations issued pursuant to the anti-dumping act be received in evidence. On the basis of the aforementioned facts conceded by counsel, I find that the appraisements in these cases are void as a matter of law, for the reason that the provisions of section 499 of the Tariff Act of 1922, governing the designation and examination of packages of imported merchandise, were not complied with by customs officers.

The single judge further said that, “The evidence introduced in the cases at bar is not sufficient to support a finding as to the correct values of these importations; and the papers must therefore be considered as still pending before the appraiser for valid appraisements,” and rendered judgment that “the appraisements * * * are void as a matter of law, * * * and they are hereby vacated and set aside.”

The Government appealed in conformity with the statute, and the Appellate Division of the Customs Court sustained the holding of the single judge as to the appraisements being void, but held it to have been error in the decision of the single judge to declare that “the papers must therefore be considered as still pending before the appraiser for valid appraisement,” saying, in effect, that since the collector failed to designate packages for examination in conformity with the statute, and since the merchandise was released and no samples retained prior to appraisement, the local appraiser had no basis upon which to make a valid appraisement and, therefore, no valid appraisement can now be made. The judgment of the appellate division provided that, “this cause be remanded to the court below for action in conformity with this decision.”

In the appeal to this court there are seventeen assignments of error by the Government. Many of these are repetitions of the same idea, or ideas, in differing phraseology. We think the material allegations, for consideration here, as presented by the assignments may be stated briefly to be, (a) whether the appeals to reappraisement were filed by the proper party; (b) whether the appeals were sufficient to raise the question of validity, and (c) whether the appraisements were void for the reasons stated by both the trial court and the appellate division.

It may be said that error is assigned as to the “finding and holding that at the time of importation one package out of every ten bags in the carloads of flour here involved were not designated for examination by the collector.” There is substantial evidence in the record [459]*459to sustain the finding below upon this question, and that finding is binding upon us.

The Government contends that the matters involved in the first two points, as above stated, presented questions of jurisdiction and should have resulted in an order sustaining its motion to dismiss the appeals for lack of jurisdiction.

Its contention as to the first point is, in substance, that the trial judge had no jurisdiction because the appeals to reappraisement were not made by a real party in interest, or by one shown to be an authorized agent of such party. In each of the five cases the appeal to re-appraisement was taken by C. J. Tower & Sons, the appellees, who made all the entries, and, in at least three of the cases, the brief on behalf of the Government states that appellees were the consignees, and the invoices in those cases show this to be a fact. Certainly as to these three cases there can be no question of the right of appellees to take the appeals to reappraisement. The statute, section 501, Tariff Act of 1922, expressly provides for the filing of appeals “by the consignee, or his agent,” and nowhere ref ers to the “real party in interest.”

As to the other two cases, the invoices do not show the consignees, but, as has been stated, the entries were made by appellees whose agency for that purpose we must presume was accepted by the collector. It is noted that the appeal to reappraisement 12357-A bears the notation “C. J. Tower & Sons (Levenson & Shevelor)” and reap-praisement 13292-A bears the notation “C. J. Tower, Petersborough, Cereal Flour.” The invoice in the first of these cases gives “Levenson & Shevelor” as the purchasers and “Peterboro Cereal Co.” (of Canada) as the seller. The invoice in the latter case gives “S. Levenson” as the purchaser and “Peterboro Cereal Co., Ltd.”, as the seller. On the entry sheets filed by appellees in both cases there is a notation “con-’ signed for delivery.”

Counsel for the Government direct attention to an affidavit of an official of the Peterboro Cereal Co. in which, referring to the two last-named cases (and s'eemingly to some other cases not involved in this appeal), it was said:

That the Peterboro Cereal Company is the real party in interest in said reappraise-ments and is liable for any increased and additional duties that may be due.

It is argued from this that the appeals being by C. J. Tower & Sons, and no express agency to take said appeals being shown, they were not in the name of the real parties in interest. Obviously, the statute does not require that appeals to reappraisement be filed by “the real party in interest.” We may take judicial notice of the fact that in a majority of the cases which reach this court it is the practice for both protests and appeals to reappraisement to be prosecuted in the names of the customs brokers. In the instant case appellees in entering the [460]*460merchandise became liable to the Government, and doubtless would be liable upon their bond for any additional duties found to be due, whatever their ultimate rights for reimbursement, or payment, by those for whom they made the entries might be. It is unreasonable to suppose that the collector would look to or depend primarily upon the foreign shipper of the merchandise for such payment, under the facts here appearing.

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Related

F. F. G. Harper Co. v. United States
5 Cust. Ct. 484 (U.S. Customs Court, 1940)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
24 C.C.P.A. 456, 1937 CCPA LEXIS 22, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-c-j-tower-sons-ccpa-1937.