United States v. Jenkins

21 Cust. Ct. 288, 1948 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 860
CourtUnited States Customs Court
DecidedAugust 18, 1948
DocketNo. 7615; Entry Nos. 683-K, etc.; 680-E, etc
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 21 Cust. Ct. 288 (United States v. Jenkins) 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
United States v. Jenkins, 21 Cust. Ct. 288, 1948 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 860 (cusc 1948).

Opinion

ORDER

CliNE, Judge:

When these cases were originally before me, I held that the proper basis for reappraisement of the merchandise was foreign value; that the principal market for such merchandise was Vancouver, B. C.; that the manufacturer’s prices to dealers were controlled, but that the dealers freely resold the merchandise to all purchasers in the ordinary course of trade; that their prices established foreign value and that the prices claimed by the plaintiff represented foreign value. United States v. M. V. Jenkins et al., 13 Cust. Ct. 345, Reap. Dec. 6040. This decision was affirmed by the appellate division. M. V. Jenkins et al. v. United States, 14 Cust. Ct. 393, Reap. Dec. 6131. On appeal to the Court of Customs and Patent Appeals, it was held that the lower courts correctly found that the principal market for the merchandise was at Vancouver; that no control was exercised there in the sale of the merchandise; that the dealers freely offered it for sale in that market to all purchasers in the usual wholesale quantities in the ordinary course of trade. M. V. Jenkins et al. v. United States, 34 C. C. P. A. 33, C. A. D. 341. However, the Court of Customs and Patent Appeals stated that since neither the trial court nor the appellate division actually found the' usual wholesale quantities in which each of the articles was freely offered for sale to all purchasers in the principal markets of Canada for home consumption, it could not determine whether there was any substantial evidence of record to support the judgment of the appellate division. Accordingly, it reversed that decision and remanded the case to the appellate division with instructions to remand it to the trial court to find the usual wholesale quantities and the prices at which the articles were freely offered for sale in usual' wholesale quantities for home consumption.

Plaintiff claims that the values originally found by this court are the prices at which the articles were freely offered for sale in the usual wholesale quantities for home consumption. The defendants contend that identical articles were freely offered for sale in the usual wholesale quantities by several sellers at different prices, so that no foreign value existed.

The Court of Customs and Patent Appeals stated that there was no dispute as to the correctness of foreign value as the basis of ap-praisement, but that “the controversy here is limited to the proper amount of the statutory value of the merchandise and whether any foreign value for it was shown to exist.” [Italics supplied.]

[290]*290If it should be found that there was no uniform price at which the merchandise was sold, it would be necessary to hold that no foreign value existed. United States v. M. Minkus, 21 C. C. P. A. 382, T. D. 46912, and cases there cited.

As to the usual wholesale quantities, the importers state in their brief that the following are the usual wholesale quantities in which the various items are sold:

Squares_ 1,000 pieces

Soaps_ 200 “

End wedges_ 1,000 “

Splits_ 200 “

Side arches_ 200 “

Small X-blocks. 200 “

The Government in its reply brief has agreed with the above figures except as to the small X-blocks, as to which it contends that there is no necessity for determining the usual wholesale quantities. Defendants claim that there, were insufficient sales to determine the usual wholesale quantities. of necks, and skews, and tongue-and-grooves. The Government claims that the usual wholesale quantities for end skews is from 100 to 600 pieces, and for tongue-and-grooves, 300 pieces, and that there is no necessity for determining the usual wholesale quantities of necks.

Basing the finding of usual wholesale quantities on the major portion of sales in wholesale quantities of the merchandise in question (United States v. M. Minkus, supra), the record supports the conclusions reached by counsel for the respective parties as to the usual wholesale quantities of squares, soaps, end wedges, splits, and side arches. As to the small X-blocks, it appears that the greatest number of sales were in quantities of 200: There was but one sale of necks in a quantity of 100; six sales of end skews, two of which were in quantities of 300; and five sales of tongue-and-grooves, two in quantities of 300 and two in quantities of 600. I find that these sales are insufficient to establish the usual wholesale quantities in which necks, end skews, and tongue-and-grooves were sold.

It is now necessary to analyze the sales in the usual wholesale quantities in order to determine whether uniform prices have been established for the various articles.

The briefs are in agreement that sales were made to three classes of purchasers: (1) Dealers, (2) industrials and large contractors, (3) small contractors; and that prices to dealers were based upon accommodations to favored customers and prices to smaller contractors were at retail. Consequently, the only sales to be considered are those to industrials and large contractors. Such sales were made by Evans, Coleman & Evans, Ltd.; McCleery & Weston, Ltd.; Champion & White, Ltd.; and Gilley Bros., Ltd.

[291]*291Horace E. Wager, customs agent, United States Treasury Department, testified that the dealers did not publish price lists but each had a manual containing a list of prices and such prices would be quoted to anyone who asked for them. Mr. Wager stated that those manuals were exhibited to him; that letters were dictated from them and that the dealers stated that those were the prices at which the goods were freely offered to the trade. The letters or memoranda mentioned were admitted into evidence as part of plaintiff’s collective exhibits 2, 3, 4, and 6. They contain the following prices:

Evans, Coleman Me Cleery & Articles & Evans, Ltd. Weston, Ltd. Gilley Bros., Ltd. (Can. $) (Can. $) (Can. £)

Squares_ Soaps_ End Wedges_ Splits_ Side Arches_ End Skews_ Tongue-and-grooves Necks_«._ Small X-blocks_ per M 50 “ “ per M 65 per M “ “ 65 “ “ “ “ 65 “ “ “ “ 65,69 “ “ “ “ 65 “ “ it u 120 “ “ Ü103HM0050505Q CJ1 O cDcDCDCOíONOCOO

The letter from Champion & White, Ltd. (plaintiff’s collective exhibit 4), states:

Our price to large industrial consumers since April 1st, 1941 has been highly competitive and more or less variable, that is, over and above our consistent price of $65.00 per M, delivered to the purchasers place of business or operation, which will be noted from our sales for such.

There appear to he three possible methods by which the brick sold by the dealers could reach the consumer: (1) It could be delivered by truck directly from the Clayburn Factories to the consumer in Vancouver, (2) it could be picked up by the consumer at the warehouses of the respective dealers, (3) it could be delivered by the dealers to the consumer from stock in their warehouses. It is logical that the prices in each case might be different. On the list of prices given by Evans, Coleman & Evans, Ltd., it is stated:

The above prices are the delivered prices to consumers in Vancouver, B. C. and include a cartage cost of $2.00 per ton or $7.00 per M for trucking from the Clayburn Factories at Kilgard, B. C. to consumers Vancouver destination: $2.00 per M.

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Related

United States v. M. V. Jenkins
24 Cust. Ct. 517 (U.S. Customs Court, 1950)
United States v. Jenkins
23 Cust. Ct. 266 (U.S. Customs Court, 1949)

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Bluebook (online)
21 Cust. Ct. 288, 1948 Cust. Ct. LEXIS 860, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-jenkins-cusc-1948.